I'll Be Here When You Need Me
by Cathy Rin
Summary: Due to an incident, Sawada Ienari was sent back to Namimori in order to recover and hide from the mafia world while he tries to live a normal life-or as normal as it could be for someone like him. For his older brother Tsuna, he would do just that and uncover the dark secrets that Ienari refuses to tell even to his home tutor Reborn, their stepfather.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary Change: Due to an incident, Sawada Ienari was sent back to Namimori in order to recover and hide from the mafia world while he tries to live a normal life-or as normal as it could be for someone like him. For his older brother Tsuna, he would do just that and uncover the dark secrets that Ienari refuses to tell even to his home tutor Reborn, their stepfather. **

**Will he be the one to discover the reason of Ienari's current plight? Some Iemitsu bashing are here. Adult Reborn too!**

**Chapter 1**

Sawada Ienari was somewhat a child who has a lot problems on his mind, not only to Iemitsu, but to Vongola Nono as well. Groomed to be the future Vongola Decimo, it was unusual or usual in certain cases, for a child to be showered with affection and ended up having some sort of problem all because of the pressure that was bestowed on him when he was eight.

That was his case, according to Reborn. Though many would like to challenge him (Iemitsu), no one can deny that what he said was right. Sawada Ienari needed healing and reprieve, and he just had the perfect idea for that.

"Send him back to Namimori," Reborn suggested.

Timoteo and Iemitsu looked at Reborn as if he grew two heads.

"What? Why are you sending my son back there?!" Iemitsu growled. He swore to himself after the divorce settlement that he would never set foot in Namimori again. He was inches away from trying to murder the hitman—cue the word _try_—and be done with it. "I'm not sending my son to my ex-wife!"

Reborn glared at the External Adviser, glad that he was a few inches taller than him. "You have a lot of nerve to refute my suggestion, when it is your upbringing that brought up this conversation in the first place." He spat out. "Would you rather he have a way to recover in a different environment, or turn him to be killed here in Italy because of his emotional dilemma that is worse than Xanxus'?" he asked. "At least Xanxus handles his emotions and juggles his responsibilities as the leader of the Varia very well, whereas your son grew up as a child with the stress of a title on his head and is always rescued by his daddy in every hurdle he enters into, not bothering to _trust_ his son to do what he thinks is right and even has the audacity to look at him in _disappointment_ when he doesn't meet your standards."

Yes, the incident that brought them to this conversation in the first place was due to the failed parenting of the Vongola's Young Lion. He may be the best in the battlefield, but place him in a familial environment and he sucks at it.

Timoteo considered Reborn's suggestion. It was clear that Ienari lacked certain qualities of a confident and authoritative boss, not to mention that it was obvious that he was keeping something bottled up. Even Dino had stated that in his brief meeting with Timoteo as the Cavallone Decimo in passing. Clearly raising Ienari under Iemitsu who was barely present in the life of the adolescent was proving to have negative effects. He sighed. As skilled as his External Adviser is in battle, his parenting skills was pretty bad.

"I will agree with Reborn," Timoteo decided.

"But Ninth!" Iemitsu tried to argue, but the man held up his hand.

"Reborn is by all accounts, right. If I leave this unattended, it would prove to be dangerous for him and the Vongola. I'm sorry Iemitsu, but if Reborn has a method in helping him properly, then I have to go by his plan,"

Iemitsu cursed inwardly at that.

Reborn was not that stupid to ignore it. "I already spoke to the headmistress of the school he would be attending,"

"What school?" Iemitsu demanded.

Reborn smirked, "Nana recommended it to me,"

A frown marred the blond's features, "From my ex-wife? Why are you asking her?"

"Like it or not, Iemitsu, Ienari is still Nana's son. You have no right to override that righht since you were violating your divorce settlement regarding child visitation ever since you whisked him away here."

"That's none of your business!" Iemitsu growled.

"It is my business now that I know that your influence has led him to this path. And as his tutor and _step-father_, I have a say in what to do with him before he destroys himself." Reborn said, rubbing salt in the wound that Iemitsu did to himself long ago.

"That is enough!" Timoteo shouted at the two of them, closing the argument. For now. "I have already made my decision, Iemitsu. I am sending Ienari to Namimori, where he would be re-taught by Reborn concerning his conduct. I will give Reborn the full authority to do what he thinks is right, and not you, or anyone will overrule it until we see results."

With that, Reborn exited the room with a gleeful smile.

When they left the office, Iemitsu glared at Reborn. "I don't care if the Ninth values your opinion in this matter, but I'll be damned if I let you sully my name in front of my son along with my _ex-wife_."

Reborn turned to glare back, sending light shivers down the External Adviser's spine. "_My_ _wife_ wanted nothing more but the best for her sons. Something that you didn't take into account when you married her and had sons." He stated. "Now that Ienari had turned into an introverted and dependent child, it's my job as his tutor and his step-father to straighten him out."

"How would you know how to fix the attitude of a child?" the blond demanded.

"It worked for _my_ _son_." He rubbed in.

"Tsuna is my son!"

"You have a lousy way of showing it." Reborn said. "Before you say that Tsuna is your son, think about what you did to him all these years before the divorce. If you ever paid any attention to the son that you claim him to be." He smirked satisfactorily when he saw Iemitsu at a loss for words. "Tsuna is now my son and my responsibility. At least Nana and he knows my job and I come home ten times more often than you ever had." He then turned and left him to his own thoughts.

…

"Ienari, you're going back to Namimori." Reborn said.

"What?! I'm not going back there!" Ienari refused. "No! I won't go back to the place where I will have the same fate as Dame-Tsuna did when we were younger!"

Without thinking, Reborn somehow gave him a sharp look which made the teenager's spine shiver. "If your brain ever recalled the fact that Tsunayoshi is now my _son_, you would soon realize that I will not sit by idly without giving him his own adjustments." He said. "And _that_ is what I'm going to do to you,"

Ienari's face was crestfallen, which Reborn found rather challenging. The boy looked a lot like Tsuna right down to the face except his blond hair, which worries Reborn to no end. It was like seeing the former Tsuna all over again. How this boy had developed into an insecure introverted child, he would never understand. But he could blame Iemitsu for this.

"If you have any objections, no one will listen to you. You are going back to Namimori, and that is final." Reborn declared. "You have six hours to pack your belongings. You will be transported _out_ of Italy before the day is done."

Before Reborn reached the door, Ienari spoke with bitterness, "Why are you doing this?"

"What, exactly?" Reborn replied.

"This! Sending me back to Namimori when almost everyone thinks of me now as a troubled child!"

A sympathetic frown marred Reborn's features. "Because I don't want any of my students to grow up with dangerous types of stress building up when I can still get rid of it."

"Why don't you just leave me alone?!" Ienari spat.

Reborn felt his patience wearing thin. It was never this hard to detain his killing intent. Stepping closer to Ienari, he spoke coldly, "Tell me, Ienari, do you know what will happen to you in five years? Where you will end up if you keep on swatting everyone's hand away?"

"In the mafia of course. That's all you ever expect of me." He replied. Reborn didn't miss the pained expression of the boy.

"No." Reborn said, startling Ienari. "You would be dead. Someday, a Mafiosi will get it in his head that you could be killed easily because of your detachment to society, and will eventually decide that you have no place in the mafia, heir or not. No one will ever know who did it because no one is ever there to watch your back." he started, eliciting a silent fear in the boy, "You may think that the Vongola will avenge you, but that won't happen if they don't even have a _clue _on what happened. The Vongola will have nothing to do but to mourn the loss of _another_ heir." He pulled Ienari's left arm and pushed back his sleeve, revealing a bandage was wrapped around his wrist, "And sending you back to Namimori will prevent _this_ from ever happening again."

Reborn left the boy staring at his tutor as he disappeared through the door.

**TBC**

**I seriously have no idea how I managed to do this…but I have stumbled upon attempted suicide fics in other categories and add to the fact that I stumbled upon my old Psychology book and it just…clicked. I'm not pretty sure if I should update this. I've never written fics with this theme, but it's kind of worth a try…I guess.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

'_Well, at least he didn't run.'_ Reborn was pretty surprised that the blond boy was tight lipped after his speech hours earlier, but it seems to do him a lot of good for starters. He didn't lie that he would be killed for showing an introverted and dependent personality. A lot of troubled kids had tried doing what he had done a month ago. He would be damned if he allows Ienari to go with the same path as those unfortunate souls.

"_He needs to grow in a new environment where he can rebuild himself, free of any complications that made him do what he did. At least, give him some time to get used to the place so he could have the courage to tell you the reason. I know you can do this, Reborn."_

"_I won't play a major part in this, if that's what you're thinking, Nono,"_

"_Who do you suppose is capable enough for helping him recover?"_

"_Who better help him recover from this than someone who had been in the same situation he brought on himself?"_

"_You don't mean…"_

"_Yes. Tsuna will be more than capable of helping his little brother. After all, their experiences is not that far apart."_

Reborn inwardly sighed as he remembered that particular conversation with the Ninth an hour before they left Italy. He just hope that Tsuna can reach out to Ienari like he had done to him four years ago.

All he could do was just hope for the best.

The private jet they took landed in Namimori in record time, and Reborn had to lead Ienari down to the airport where at the arrival area, a petite woman with long brown hair and caramel eyes was waiting for them. His wife of four years, Sumeragi-Niserio Nana.

…

Ienari hated his life. Ever since he was young, he was always the one who had to pick up the slack that his supposedly 'older' brother was leaving behind. He remembers saving him from bullies once upon a time, but in the course of the years, it merely turned into a vague memory that needed to be erased from his head right away.

Somewhere down the road, resentment for his older brother's weakness festered in him until it became resentment to his older brother as a whole. He was tired of always there for the rescue. And one single blow had managed to sever the bond he had with his older brother.

He could still remember it. The day he hit him for the very first time in his life. He glared at him as Tsuna held his swollen cheek in shock of what his younger brother had done. Pain and betrayal was evident in his eyes, as if he was looking at someone who he used to know. The person he thought was supposed to be with him through thick and thin, was now the person who would harm him.

'_I hate you and everything you stand for.'_

As soon as Ienari said those words, the bonds between him and his older brother crumbled. They didn't talk unless they needed to, whether it be in school or at home. He turned a blind eye on the continuous bullying of his brother, no longer lending a hand.

They were seven when that happened, and Ienari continued to hate him even after the divorce, until evidently, as the eight years passed, he just felt nothing else but pity.

He used to pity him.

But now he pitied himself.

Pitied himself for being so weak-willed and dependent on the approval of the father that was barely around to raise him properly.

They might think that he doesn't notice, but he could tell that the people around him sympathized with him. After the divorce that rendered him without a mother, things weren't the same. It got worse when he was chosen as the future Vongola Decimo.

A lot of pressure had been placed on his eight year-old shoulders. He had to make himself learn a lot of things that are required to become a mafia boss. He got the combat lessons down to pat, but his socialization skills was abysmal. It was probably due to the fact that his father had isolated him from other kids his age, only managing to interact with them at a mafia school where Dino and Squalo had gone to. But most of those kids only think of the benefits that came with befriending the Vongola Decimo.

That sent Ienari the message that he would never get true friends. Not in the mafia world.

But his older brother, according to Reborn, had managed to get over his poor personality. He wondered what his brother had become.

'_It can't be as bad as mine…' _Shaking away all those thoughts, he reprimanded himself. _'Don't get your hopes up. Dame-Tsuna will always be Dame-Tsuna. Reborn may be bluffing. Eight years can't change a person that quick…can it?'_ he wondered as he followed his tutor to the arrival area where he saw a familiar woman.

His eyes lingered on her as he and his tutor approached her. Her hair was the same chestnut brown, but longer. Her eyes shone lovingly at their direction, and her face was glowing, even more when he last saw her. After the divorce, and even before that, his mother looked a little lackluster. It becomes more noticeable when his father leaves within the week, leaving her behind.

Now she looked her age, probably even younger. He hadn't seen his mother since the divorce. He didn't even bother to attend the small ceremony of her wedding to none other than his tutor, Reborn, or in public, Renato Niserio, a private consultant.

"Ah, Nari! Dear!" Nana called out to them gleefully as she went towards their direction.

Ienari stared at the approaching woman. He knew that he was but a mere memory to this woman whom he hadn't seen in eight years. He would approach the hitman first before acknowledging him.

But to his surprise, the first person she grabbed into a hug was him.

The boy who refused to talk to her for eight years.

"Oh Nari! I missed you so much!" Ienari could feel the warmth of the hugs of this woman. It was not awkward like his father's, nor is it just a simple gesture like his 'friends' back in the mafia academy that he was attending, nor was it playful and jolly like Dino when he comes to visit. It was heartwarming…and nostalgic.

But all too soon, she pulled away from him and looked him over. She frowned. Ienari's ire began to resurface. He could tell that she will give him a displeased look because of his attire which consisted of ripped faded blue jeans and a simple tee. His bandaged wrist was concealed by a wristband. He could tell he would get reprimanded. "You're too thin! What are those people feeding you?" she asked instead. "More importantly," she faced her husband, "What have you been making him do?" she said with a lecturing voice.

For the first time in Ienari's life, he could actually see Reborn's façade break. "Well…that's…" he hesitated on what he was going to say. Ienari could tell that he was quickly making up an excuse.

"Really! You work Nari too hard!" Nana lectured as she placed her hands on her hips. "I don't care if he is going to be a future boss, but I want him healthy when he does."

That got Ienari's attention quickly. "Eh? Y-You…know?"

Nana looked back at him and smiled. "I know _every single thing_ now." She whispered with a wink. "Now, shall we get to the restaurant? I left Tsu-kun and Hayato-kun there long enough," without delay, the group of three made their way to the parking lot.

"You left two teenagers to help out at the restaurant?" Reborn asked her.

"Well, Kyou-kun is waiting in the car. He's my driver for today!" she replied gleefully.

For the first time in Ienari's life, he could sense an obvious ire from his tutor. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he spoke, "You mean to say that a _delinquent_ is driving the family car?"

"Kyou-kun is not a delinquent! I can't very well drive to the airport without getting lost." Nana interjected, "Besides, he's already eighteen and already has a license! Why, he even drives Tsu-kun to school with his own car now!"

"He what?"

Watching the two interact made Ienari feel just a little insecure at their natural interaction. It wasn't all 'lovey-dovey' like what he had seen in his childhood when his parents were still married to each other. But looking at his mother and his tutor, he could tell that there was affection in their interaction despite only been married for four years.

They arrived at the parking lot to see a teenager in a gakuran with an armband that says 'Discipline' on it. He had raven black hair and piercing blue grey eyes. When he saw that he was leaning on a blue family car. The moment the teenager straightened up, he immediately knew that this was the 'Kyou-kun' that his mother was talking about.

"Nana-san," the teenager addressed. "Ah, hitman."

Reborn's eyes sharpened, but to Ienari's surprise, the teen didn't even flinch. "Do you mind not calling me 'hitman' when we are in public?"

"My apologies then, Father," Ienari knew that the teenager was teasing.

The twitching of Reborn's brow was enough for him to tell that he was pissed at the address. But why was the teenager calling him 'Father' of all things?

As if trying to prevent an imminent bloodbath, Nana introduced him to the teenager. "Kyou-kun, I'd like you to meet Ienari. He's Tsu-kun's younger brother. Nari, this is Hibari Kyouya."

"Hey." Ienari addressed softly.

Hibari stared at Ienari for a few seconds before brandishing a smirk. "Wao. So this is the younger brother of Tsunayoshi. Can't say I'm not surprised that they resemble each other besides the blond hair. Almost like twins."

"He's older than me by one year." He corrected. "How do you know my brother?"

Hibari smirked, "He'll tell you when he's ready. Besides, little herbivore, you have a lot to learn here,"

"Herbivore?" now he felt insulted.

"A weakling."

Ienari felt his blood boil. "Why you…"

Ienari was about to retort when Reborn cut them off. "That's enough. We have to get back to the restaurant to get your brother. It's almost the end of his shift." He then looked at Hibari, "This time, I'm driving."

"That's fine with me. My car is parked here with Tetsuya." He then bowed respectfully to Nana, "I will be going now, Nana-san. I have some duties to take care of, such as the final papers for transfer of this herbivore." Hibari didn't miss it when Ienari's stare sharpened at him.

"Take care then, Kyou-kun," Nana bid as he watched the prefect disappear from view.

The three of them loaded the car and a silently drove to the restaurant.

…

The first thing Ienari realized was that their house was a few minutes' drive away from the restaurant they were running. The second thing he realized was that it was now ran by part-time teenagers going around the area left and right. Orders were being taken in all tables, and the staff was now running around making sure that all orders were served immediately.

When Nana and Reborn ushered him in, he was taken in by the homey atmosphere of the restaurant. The tables were always set for four to six people, rarely were they for two. The paintjob was beige and the pillars were painted brown. The service counter was at the far end of the restaurant, between two staircases that leads to the second floor.

Nana scanned the area and spotted a mane of fluffy brown using skate shoes to serve the trays with their designated table numbers.

"Tsu-kun!" she called out.

In an instant, the brown haired teenager stopped his skates to look at their direction, "Ah! Papa, Mom, Ienari! You're back!" he said as he placed his trays on the designated tables before excusing himself to maneuver himself towards the three. That was the moment that he realized that the person that was now coming towards them was his older brother, Tsunayoshi. Gone was his aura of uselessness, and was replaced with something other than every negative thing that he had thought about his older brother for the past couple of years.

"I thought you would take a little longer," he then looked at Ienari. That alerted Ienari in an instant, expecting a look of disdain, but instead, he was given a pure and innocent smile of relief, "Ienari. I hadn't seen you in eight years. How have you been doing?"

"Just well enough." He stated with a shrug. But Tsuna didn't seem to be fazed.

"Ah, but you look like you hadn't been eating well. Skipping meals is a big no no in the house." He then turned to Reborn, "Papa, are you working him too hard?"

"You and your mother think alike when accusing me. No, I do not. I work him just right." He defended. "When will your shift end?"

Tsuna looked at his wristwatch, "Hmm…in about fifteen minutes. Hayato is about to be done in the kitchen, and he'll be picked up by Takeshi too,"

"Tsuna-san, order for table fifteen," a silver haired teen said from the kitchen window.

"Alright Hayato!" Tsuna replied. Turning to them, he sighed, "Well, I better head back. Oh, Mom, there are some letters mailed to you earlier when you left for the airport. They're in your office."

"We'll be waiting for you in the car, Tsuna." Reborn declared. "Fifteen minutes is nothing. We can all drive back home with you. The assistant manager can close up." He assured.

"Okay. I'll tell them then," Tsuna declared as he rolled off to finish the last of his orders and his shift.

Fifteen minutes later, Ienari saw his brother get out of the staff door along with the silver haired teen waving goodbye to each other. Running to the car, Tsuna opened the door to the backseat, where Ienari was sitting as well. Without a minute to lose, Reborn drove to their house.

Ienari was surprised when he saw the house that Reborn had commissioned to be built in Namimori. It was a three story minimalist house complete with a driveway and garage. The 42m² villa lends itself to both formal and informal gatherings with an open floor plan and expansive outdoor living areas. Reflecting the crisp simplicity of the design, the interior decoration is based on a dramatic yet elegant white and black palette complemented by light wooden flooring. The bold, show-stopping black-painted steel frames are reinforcing the dazzling panoramas afforded by the house. It had all the up-to-date technology that money could buy, and the house looked like a celebrity was living on it. The teen figured being a professional hitman had its perks, especially on the monetary side of things.

The group of four got out of the car in no time. Nana took out the grocery bags that was in the back of the car, while Reborn took out Ienari's luggage and handed it to his student, "Tsuna, show Ienari to his room, will you? I'll cook dinner tonight."

Tsuna's eyes seem to brighten, "Can you cook that lasagna you made for us last month?"

"Sure." Reborn replied as he ruffled his hair fondly, eliciting a groan from Tsuna. The hitman pulled away from his son and the couple left the brothers to their own devices on their way to the kitchen.

Not wasting any time, Tsuna led Ienari inside the spacious house. He couldn't do anything but marvel at the interior. "Our rooms are at the second floor. The third floor is for recreation area and a small library, if you're interested. Mom cooks breakfast usually, but we switch every two days. The house awakens at six in the morning since I help out Mom with the opening of the restaurant before heading to school," Tsuna shared. They stopped at the third room to the left. Tsuna took out a key and opened the door.

Ienari entered and was impressed at the minimalist themed bedroom. He was instantly impressed by how the hitman designed his own house. "I never thought Reborn would build such a house,"

Tsuna laughed, "Well, Papa always said to be grand or not do it at all." He shared. "This will be your room. Your uniform is already pressed and hanged in the closet for tomorrow. Your school tour guide will be waiting for you at the school gates by tomorrow at eight. If you want to help out with the opening of the restaurant, we go there at seven on the dot before I'm picked up by Kyouya," when he was replied by silence, Tsuna looked back at his little brother with worried eyes. "Ienari?"

Again, a sudden feeling of awkwardness came back to him. "Why…?"

Tsuna tilted his head, "Why what?"

"Why are you greeting me like this warmly?" Ienari asked. "When all I did from when we were seven up until their divorce was to be mean to you? Why aren't you hating me?"

Silence reigned in the room at first, but Tsuna broke it with a small smile, "That happened years ago, Ienari. There's no point for me to hold a childish grudge. Besides, you're not being mean to me now, aren't you?" Ienari was floored.

"Papa told me that you were having trouble adjusting in your life in Italy. I figured you needed a change of scenery along with a change of how view yourself and people. Starting tomorrow, I'll help you overcome your insecurity and your pressure in meeting…_his_ expectations." He didn't miss the pained expression in Tsuna's eyes when he mentioned their father. "Do you want me to help you unpack?"

Ienari knew that he was avoiding that subject, so going along, he shook his head, "No. I can do it."

With a smile, Tsuna turned to leave, "We may have parted with animosity between us, but I'm glad you're here, Ienari,"

When the door closed and footsteps faded, Ienari sat down as he stared at the door. "Maybe I am too…"

**TBC**

**So, a little bit of clearing is needed:**

**1\. Nana and Iemitsu divorced when Ienari was eight and Tsuna was nine.**

**2\. Reborn married Nana four years prior, making him Tsuna's step-father when he was thirteen and was already admitted to the school Ienari will be entering. As for how they met…well, that will be revealed soon. **

**3\. At present, Ienari is sixteen, while Tsuna is seventeen. Basically Tsuna is eleven months older than Ienari, and sometimes are mistaken as twins. This means that Ienari is entering high school as a first year, while Tsuna is in his second year.**

**4\. I made up Reborn's real name, Renato Niserio. I got the first name from a fanfic I read somewhere, while his last name is from a former schoolmate of mine.**

**5\. Legally, Nana and Tsuna uses Sumeragi-Niserio in their names. The former for Nana's maiden name and the latter for Reborn's. When referring to themselves in an informal manner, they use Sumeragi only. **

**6\. Tsuna and Ienari's relationship was on the rocks even before the divorce, and Tsuna never bore any ill will towards him. Why? Because being an older sister as well, you won't get mad with your younger sibling that long without feeling that bearing a grudge towards a sibling is childish. **

**7\. This fic will be slow-paced, as Ienari is still getting used to his surroundings. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Namimori Reformation and Rehabilitation Institute is a school that educates delinquents and students with mental health problems without the discrimination of the normal students. It was a school where delinquents graduate as better people, and students with mental health problems are slowly healed and are helped to get back to their feet by the time they graduate also. It was created twenty years ago by Hibari Hanami, the current headmistress of the school.

Though it might look like a low-quality school from hearing it, when a person visits the campus, it was actually on par with the elite schools and shows a lot of promising grades from the second years and above. The first year of middle school and high school was the adjusting period, so no amount of pressure could be held on their shoulders. After their first year, they are then taught by foreign and local teachers alike to help them gain back their confidence and proper morality in terms of learning. Extracurricular activities are encouraged. Their school system is not restrictive, allowing students to have a feel of living a normal life despite their misgivings.

The main cores of discipline in the school is divided into two as well as the factions or student division.

The Disciplinary Committee oversees the progress of the delinquents who are sent to the school. Within the first year was the year of screening, to see whether a delinquent has a chance in changing his fate to jail. If they fail to meet the criteria needed, they are sent to normal juvenile facilities. The committee was headed by none other than Hibari Hanami's only son, Hibari Kyouya. And those who defile the school will get the beating they would never forget. They call this faction the Reformation Faction.

The second core is the Student Counselors. They are a group of students who supervises the students with mental health problems and helps them in overcoming their demons. Since they have the most delicate jobs, the members of the Student Counselors are those with a brief psychology background or had been in the same situation as them once upon a time. It helps the students realize that they could overcome their inner demons that had kept their normal lives at bay since being diagnosed with their mental health problems. These students were called Rehabilitation Faction.

The head of the Counselors was Sumeragi-Niserio Tsunayoshi—much to Ienari's shock, as he read the student handbook morning the next day.

Upon looking at the two types of uniforms, he found out that they issue two different school uniforms for each faction. The Reformation Faction are issued with a black gakuran and a sailor uniform for girls and are distinguished from other schools with a crest pin, while the Rehabilitation Faction are issued a black blazer with gold pinstripes also issued with the same crest pin.

Ienari looked at his closet to find the uniform for the Rehabilitation Faction, as he expected. He scoffed lightly as he looked at his concealed bandaged wrist. "I deserve to be in that faction…after what I did that sent the whole castle in chaos…"

He clenched his left fist. He didn't remember what kind of idea had gone into his head, but he knew that it made him see the usual disappointed look of his father, and the worrying look of the Ninth and Reborn after he woke up in the hospital. Yes. Reborn had looked worried about him when he woke up in the hospital and having been monitored for two days in case he attempted to do the deed again. But it only lasted for a day before he was hit upside the head and been lectured for keeping things to himself.

When doctors questioned him on why he did it, try as he might, he couldn't remember the reason why. They said that he unconsciously buried that memory because of a trauma.

The night before, he wondered to himself why Nana or Tsuna didn't bring up his suicide attempt. It was either Reborn didn't tell them, or they were wise enough to not talk about it and to act normally around them. If it was the latter, then Ienari felt relieved that they weren't breathing down his neck, unlike the entire staff of the Vongola Castle.

A knock on the door was heard. "Come in," Ienari said.

The door opened to reveal Tsuna in his own black blazer with an extra pin that distinguished him as the head Counselor. "Ienari, we will be heading to the restaurant to open up. Want to come with?"

Hesitation came up to him and shook his head. "No thank you. Reborn said he'd be driving me to school. I have to be early for the introductions, right?"

Tsuna laughed lightly, "Yeah, you're right. Oh, by the way, the one you're going to meet is a student named Yamamoto Takeshi. Rest assured you can count on him to show you around."

"Alright…" Ienari said before his brother disappeared in the corridor.

Not long after the mother and son duo left, Reborn drove him to school.

"You read the handbook last night and this morning?" the hitman asked.

"Yeah." Ienari replied. "I never thought that…Tsuna would hold such a position…head Counselor?"

Reborn nodded. "Tsuna is in charge of taking care of all students with mental issues. And rest assured that he would talk to you as a counselor soon enough."

"Hey, Reborn…exactly how did he end up in that school?"

"Same as all students in the Rehabilitation Faction." Reborn said, "All of them had mental health problems, some are even drug abusers. Some even did what you tried to do. But those higher years who had recovered stayed to help others overcome their own personal demons. One of the ones who overcame their personal demons was Tsuna. He fought hard to get over his problems because of the environment that made him grow up." He looked at Ienari, "And that's why I'm sending you there during the day under his guidance."

Ienari was speechless. For his tutor to say something highly of Tsuna, it was unusual for someone who had mercilessly nearly killed Dino on a daily basis as of three years ago, and had become his home tutor soon afterwards who also did not give him any mercy.

"It's stupid, isn't it?" Ienari mused, "About me doing something like this-" he held out his left wrist. "-and being able to forget the specific reason why I did it…"

Reborn sighed, "What you did was purely dangerous. You practically sent almost everyone in the castle running like headless chickens." Reborn replied sharply. "But no one can fault you on that. The reason I suggested that you be sent here is in order for you to have a peaceful school year without the stress of your expected future."

Reborn pulled over at the drop-off area and Ienari peeped at the window to see the Reformation and Rehabilitation factions entering the school peacefully. He could see a group that was filled with Reform students only, and Rehab students only. There were also some who have a mixed group. He was pretty amazed on how the delinquents and the rehab kids co-existed without any carnage. Though he supposed it was because of the discipline implementations in the school that prevents them from causing a ruckus.

"Good luck on your first day. I'll pick the two of you up in the afternoon," Reborn said as he drove off to the restaurant, leaving Ienari to the tall boy with a goofy grin on his face.

…

Yamamoto Takeshi, a second year, proved to be someone who can attach himself to almost anyone. Ienari proved that to be true the moment the teenager brandished a bright smile on him.

"Hey! I'm Yamamoto Takeshi. You must be Sawada Ienari, right?"

"Yeah…" Ienari now felt awkward. He was wearing a Rehab uniform, which mean that he was someone who also has or had a mental health issue. But judging from the grin on his face, it didn't seem like it.

Yamamoto looked at him, "Wow! You almost look like Tsuna. Except for the hair of course. Well, as a freshman, you need to learn the ropes and the different places that you have to memorize." He then took out a tablet, "Here's the standard issued tablet with a digital copy of the handbook. It's a large campus, so getting lost is frequent. The printed ones don't include some secret aspects of the school to keep our secret of quality education all hushed up," he shared as the two entered the main building. "You can also use that for your researches on the internet, but the violent sites are blocked, so don't bother trying. Your emails are yours alone, so you can access it for any school announcements."

"Thanks…" he looked at the teenager and asked, "By the way…how are the classes segregated?"

"In the morning, they're not," Yamamoto informed. "Morning classes are the classes spent with both factions in the academic sense. The afternoon classes is where all your classes are split between factions and by year level. That's when the Rehab sessions start for us, and the Reform sessions for the other."

"Ah…I see…" so that was why some of them had mixed groups. They were all in the same classes in the mornings.

"So, let me get you to the Staff Room," Takeshi said as he pulled Ienari towards the corridors. Ienari just allowed himself to be taken in, knowing that it would be futile if he resisted.

Yamamoto was instructed to return to his class with a pass as soon as they reached the Staff Room, leaving Ienari behind with the teachers inside. He wasn't surprised that his homeroom teacher was a doctor. Most of the teachers, according to the tablet handbook, are professional psychiatrists with their own professional fields. They are the ones who assists the student counselors in helping the Rehab students overcome their issues. Ienari found it interesting, employing people with a degree to help them out.

"Well then, shall we get to your new class?" the teacher, Dr. Mikoto, offered as she directed him outside to the classrooms of the first years.

Ienari obediently followed her to class 1-C, ad had been introduced as the younger brother of Sumeragi Tsunayoshi. Ienari knew that using the real last name of Reborn would be dangerous, so they had Tsuna use the maiden name of Nana for protection. But his birth records and his legal renaming states him as Niserio Tsunayoshi.

Unlike the normal schools, however, they did not seem hostile when they learned that the head student counselor had a brother. Instead, smiles greeted him. That was when he found out during his break as he conversed with his classmates that Tsuna fondly talks about him when Rehab students has sessions with his older brother. And when the Reform students sees him in the Disciplinary Committee Room. He was always saying how he remembered the times when they would spend time together before the divorce of their parents. Tsuna remembered how strong he was when he defended him from bullies.

But right now, Tsuna was wrong. He was not strong. He stopped defending his brother long ago. He has stopped believing that he could be strong. His weakness led him to his current plight and him being sent to the school for rehabilitation.

He would do anything to get back the bond he had with his older brother if it means being a step closer to rebuilding himself.

"_Remember this, Ienari. You need people closest to you, not just me as your home tutor."_

The words from Reborn that he ignored long ago came ringing back in his head. _"Maybe he's right…"_

It was a good thing that no one must speak of their mental problems to anyone unless the person was willing, and Ienari was not that willing to share his mistake to anyone inside the room. The class understood it, as they were also battling their personal demons.

For now, Ienari was safe to assume that he could survive the school with his dilemma intact. Unconsciously, Ienari held on to his left wrist, covered by a wristband under his sleeve.

**TBC**

**And this is the new chapter. **

**A bit of an introduction here and there, including the school. Of course, if someone had done what Ienari did, then they would be sent somewhere, right? I created the school as some sort of a safe haven for the Reforms and Rehabs, but then…it all amounted to which group would help that faction improve and not to worsen their mindsets. Of course, Hibari is by default, the top dog of the Reform faction. Tsuna, by popularity for kindness, I guess?**

**And now you know that Yamamoto is a Rehabilitation student! Well, you can already guess how he got sent there if you know the manga and anime very well. Now I wonder where Gokudera went… (wink)**

**About the last thought of Ienari, I think it's safe to say that he's looking at Tsuna to help him overcome his dilemma now that he knew he could help him, even if some think that he would be the last one he would run to for help. But as I said, sibling bond is stronger than people make it look for some people, and one of them are Tsuna and Ienari.**

**Next to appear: Hibari Kyouya again! **

**I'm being too flippant these days, and it's showing on my other fic. I have no idea what has gotten into my head these past few days. I hate it. Do you think this is showing here? Please let me know. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

If anyone says that being a Reform is better than being in Rehab, then they have not met Hibari Kyouya.

Those delinquents under his jurisdiction follows his every rule and obeys every command. And if you abide by everything the Disciplinary Committee says, then that means you want to change. Or simply get out of harm's way.

When he had met the teenager on his first hour back in Namimori, he struck him as a delinquent, as Reborn had told him. But he was simply some sort of warden, and the son of the headmistress who demanded nothing more to the Reform students but to obey the rules of the school, the city, and the country itself. Her son, living by that since childhood, probably sent her son at her school on purpose.

Those who refuse will meet the tonfas of the Disciplinary Committee Chairman.

That was how Ienari met Hibari Kyouya the second time around on Friday, almost a week after he transferred. He was passing by during his free time on his second day to explore a bit when something caught his eye. A group of first year delinquents fresh out of juvenile facilities challenged the prefect for a fight for dominance, refusing to bow down to the head prefect of the school.

And Hibari had showed them just _who_ is in charge in the Reform Faction.

He swung his tonfas with precision, making hits on vital areas accurate and swift, not bothering to take a second glance at the ones who fell from the blows of his steel tonfas. One by one, the naïve delinquents fell until no one stood up anymore. The higher years of the Reform Faction simply stared at the upstarts with sighs as they watched their underclassman with pity for defying school rules. A group of Rehab students are there as well, being surrounded by the Reform students.

"Ah, Kyouya is at it again."

Ienari turned around only to see his older brother look at the scene before them. The surprise almost made him have a heart attack. "Whoa!" he squeaked.

Tsuna smiled apologetically, "Sorry. I saw you heading to the gym, and I got a call from Hayato that Kyouya is doing something with the first years of the Reform again. I was supposed to stop him, but…" he pointed at the prefect's area.

Hibari pulled one of the first years' collars and glared straight in his eyes. "I'll say this once, so listen good, you disgusting herbivores. This is not a place where you can lord around people. You are all under _my_ jurisdiction. In the Reform Faction, _I am the rule_." He growled. "You have a lot of nerve to attempt to attack our Rehab students. If that had carried on, you would be sent straight to juvenile detention until your adulthood and transferred to jail, whichever their parents choose."

At his words, Ienari couldn't feel anything but relieved.

"Hey, Hibari you bastard!" Ienari turned his head to the left to see the same silver haired teenager he had seen in the restaurant yesterday wearing a gakuran, his hair tied up and glasses on, "Why do you always act on your own?"

"And…here's Hayato. Just in time." Tsuna mused.

"I am the head of the committee, _Secretary_ Gokudera Hayato. I do what I need to do," he dropped the delinquent back on the ground and crossed his arms to his chest, "And where have you been?"

"I was on the phone telling Tsuna-san of the situation! You couldn't have waited before you taught them a lesson?!"

Ienari looked at his brother, "Aren't you going to stop him?"

"Yes, yes I should. Stay here, will you?" He said with a sigh as he approached them. Ienari watched Tsuna carry himself with such calm authority seeping out of him in an instant. "There's no need to wait for me, I saw everything," he started.

"You're pretty late, Sumeragi Tsunayoshi," Hibari addressed as he put away his tonfas.

"Sorry. I was on the other side of the building talking to a student. Hayato sounded so urgent that I had to come and see what was happening here."

Ienari watched as almost all of the people in the area stared at Tsuna as he walked towards Hibari in one swift motion. Tsuna scanned the area to see a group of Rehab students were being shielded by the Reforms. "Katsuragi-san,"

"Yes!" one of the Reform students said in attention.

"Please explain what happened before Hibari arrived," he instructed.

The Reform student named Katsuragi straightened up and began to speak, "They were trying to extort money from Shimada's group while they were here for a group study. We—Terashima and Harata of the Reform Faction, were with them, but we went on a drink errand. When we returned, these first years were trying to get money from them. We tried to reason with them properly, but they have been verbally assaulting us, and even used force. When Hibari-san arrived, we were holding them down and were trying to get Shimada and the others away from these students."

Tsuna nodded as he listened and looked at one of the delinquents who was in fact, carrying an eco-bag from the vending machine in case of multiple drinks are bought. "I see. And have you explained to them why you are protecting the Rehab students?"

Katsuragi nodded. "We warned them that their stress levels may increase should they assault them, but they wouldn't listen to reason. We even tried telling them what would happen should Hibari-san catches wind of this, but alas…"

"They kept on arguing with you, and Shimada-san and the other Rehab students are being stressed out?" when Katsuragi nodded, Tsuna went to the group who were sitting on the ground, writhing in pain.

He went to the student whom Hibari had lifted a while ago and looked at all of them in the eye, "In this school, you follow the rules of your faction. If you are in Rehab, you follow our advice, if you are in Reform, you follow the rules of the Disciplinary Committee. We care about the welfare of the students here, in order to make sure that they could live in peace without any sort of weight holding them back. When you hurt the Reform students, you will get physical retaliation, based on the rules set up by the school. But if you hurt the Rehab students, we have a big problem." Tsuna's stare intensified that it almost looked like a glare.

"We here at Namimori Reformation and Rehabilitation Institute makes sure that the Rehab students are well taken care of. We are not here to make their mental states worse because of people like you." Tsuna said sternly. "If you want to continue this behavior, do it somewhere else. Your parents sent you here in hopes that you will become a better person, but it seems that you yourself don't want to." He then straightened up. "Hibari, as a fellow head of the school system, what could we agree on with punishment?"

Hibari shrugged, "I already bit them to death."

"That's not what I meant,"

"Fine. A week's suspension for attempting to attack more than one Rehab student and not listening to reprimands, and a probation period until next semester. Should they not meet the standards to become full-fledged Reform students, then they will be dismissed and sent to Namimori Juvenile Detention Facility." Hibari said, as if memorizing all the rules.

'_That's in the handbook!'_ Ienari thought. _'This guy…does he love the rules so much?'_

"Well then, that settles the verdict." Tsuna finalized. He then went to the Rehab students, "Shimada-san, are you guys alright? Any stress increase?"

Shimada and his group shook their heads. "No worries, Sumeragi-senpai. Katsuragi-san and the others blocked us from them before they did anything,"

"I see. That's good. But to be sure, we have to go to the hospital building if there is any lasting damage." He looked at the student, "You have some bullying problems before, is that right? It's not good to re-expose you to that environment,"

"I-I can handle it senpai! Really!"

"Really? Then that's good." He looked back at the Reform students. "Can you guys make sure that they get to the hospital building for a check-up with Mimura-sensei? Just in case,"

"Yes, Sumeragi-san," Katsuragi replied before he and his group of Reform students led the Rehab students to the direction of the Hospital Building.

After Hibari ordered tall man to 'get rid of the bodies' in the site, Tsuna turned to Ienari's direction and motioned him to come closer. Hesitant, Ienari obeyed.

When Ienari arrived, Tsuna turned to the silver haired teen, "Hayato, this is my younger brother, Ienari. Ienari, this is Gokudera Hayato, the Secretary of the Disciplinary Committee."

"A _forced_ secretary." He then looked at Ienari, "I would ask you how you ended up here, but you're a Rehab. Works better with the Reforms," he said casually.

"How about you?" Ienari wondered. If this guy ended up in Reform, then that means he could do anything that is short of murder.

Gokudera scoffed. "Tried to blow up an alley. Branded as a delinquent for defying authority, and I was shipped here. I was a transfer student from Italy at Namimori Middle School. Now I work for Mr. I Will Bite You to Death if You Defy Me as his secretary until I graduate just because I have the skills." He informed as he dodged a tonfa aimed at his head.

All too soon, the simple strike turned into an all-out fight with Gokudera dodging while Hibari kept assaulting him with his steel tonfas.

"Well, that's a way to put it," Tsuna mused as the brothers watched the fight. "Takeshi should have been here…" Tsuna said as he looked around.

Ienari looked at Tsuna, "You know the one who gave me the introduction?"

"Of course. He's a counselor like me," Tsuna shared. "And he's one of the few who can calm Hayato down."

"What about you?" he asked.

Tsuna laughed sheepishly, "I usually get hit in the process even if I try to avoid it,"

"What?"

"I may be changed, but my usual clumsiness is hard to get rid of. Just look at Papa's former student, then you'll see."

"You know Dino-san?" he asked incredulously.

Tsuna nodded, "He comes by during weekends when he has free time. Usually to oversee Kyouya's training," when Ienari gave him a questioning look, he continued, "They met during Mom and Papa's wedding. Let's just say that the backyard of the reception location had a lot of dents in them because of their fight. It ended up with Kyouya being Dino's apprentice." He shared.

"That's weird. Dino-san didn't strike me as the masochist type…"

"I thought so too."

With that, the brothers shared a smile, which Ienari found to be so easy right now.

It made him feel like they were picking up where they left off, barring the slap incident when they were seven. Tsuna was right in that respect. He didn't hold a grudge against Tsuna for being weak. He was feeling guilty that he did that to Tsuna instead of continuing to stay as his protector.

"Tsuna…I'm sorry…" the words immediately fell on his lips before he had the time to take it back.

Tsuna's eyes widened expectedly at him, clearly surprised by his apology. "About what?"

"About what I did to you when I was seven…the slapping you and telling you I hate you incident," he said as he looked away.

Without warning, Ienari felt Tsuna's had ruffle his blond locks. When he looked at him, Tsuna was smiling and his warm caramel eyes spoke of elation at his reply. "You know I already did. But did you already forgive yourself?"

"I regret doing it…"

"Then there's nothing to forgive." Tsuna said. "Unless…"

"Unless what?"

"Unless you call me Tsuna-niichan again,"

At that, Ienari felt himself burning up. "I-I can't do that so suddenly!" he complained.

Tsuna laughed and raised his hand in mock surrender, "I was just joking. It's fine if you still call me Tsuna. At least it's not my old moniker,"

"Yeah…" Ienari said, trying to lower his face temperature. "But still! I can't call you that right out of the blue…"

"AH! Tsuna-san look out!"

Both brothers looked at the direction of the fighting duo when a blur of silver went towards them. Things went on too fast until the silver blur ended up colliding with Tsuna's forehead, bringing him down on his behind.

"Tsuna-san!"

Tsuna simply held onto his forehead and moaned. "Ow…" he then looked at the prefect who looked like he regretted nothing. "Kyouya! At least make sure no one could get hit if Hayato dodges it!"

"You're already strong enough to dodge things at the last second. You were merely distracted by your herbivorous brother."

"Hey!"

"Geez…" Tsuna grumbled.

A shadow loomed over him, showing a concerned face of Ienari. "Are you okay Tsuna-nii?"

At his concerned face, Tsuna felt himself go back to memory lane back when Ienari was five and Tsuna fell downstairs of their old house. _"Tsuna-niichan are you okay?"_

In an instant, the three looked at Tsuna who merely smiled fondly, "I've forgotten you were so cute, Ienari…"

At that, Gokudera paled. "He's lost it! I'll get the baseball idiot with a first aid kit at once!" Gokudera said as he immediately fished out his own phone and speed-dialed Yamamoto Takeshi.

While that was happening, all Ienari could do was blush at the smile of his older brother, realizing that his tongue slipped at the added honorific.

**TBC**

**Well…calling him Tsuna-nii is just a little accident. Ienari's problem had nothing to do with Tsuna in the first place, so adjusting to calling him Tsuna-nii is simply reconnecting their bond. It has been a week already, I suppose. **

**And yes, I did retain his clumsy and sometimes absent-minded side for added adorableness for Tsuna! If Dino could pull it off, why can't Tsuna? **

**One of my reviewers requested for me not to put up pairings, but then…I can't really write anything without pairings! I just can't! Believe me, I tried, but the temptation was too much. My pairings would still be in question as I erased my initial intended pairing in the first chapter posted. I'm going to add something else too. Maybe adding in 00/? for a change? But rest assured it would not overall affect the story in a way. **

**Tell me what kind of pairing you want to see. Personally, D18 is coming right at me upon writing this. But my woes about that pairing always leads me to the thought: 'In the end, Dino would choose his family's survival over Hibari out of duty' kind of thing. And then my thoughts go to advanced Vongola Technology and m-…STOPPING THERE!**

**Ahahaha…well, this would be my last update for the month. I'm going on a trip to my grandmother's house (I sound like Red Riding Hood) which is completely internet free, and my pocket wifi is very much unreliable there. **

**It leaves me with a lot of thinking to do, especially with my Turning the Tables sequel problem. **

**See you guys in May~!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

If Reborn was surprised when he saw the brothers talking amicably with each other, he definitely didn't show it that much. There had always been tension and awkwardness between Tsuna and Ienari all week, and Reborn and Nana were not alien to it. Eight years has passed after all, not to mention the incident that only Reborn knew, had happened a year before the divorce, they were meant to be in that kind of situation one way or another.

When he picked up the boys at school, he saw them part with Tsuna's friends barring Hibari. He noticed a red mark on Tsuna's forehead, which alerted him immediately. But since none of his friends were worrying, he assumed that one of Tsuna's clumsy or absent-minded moments came into effect again.

Honestly, why was he turning into another Dino who always has a relapse of his clumsiness? Maybe he should start banning Dino from coming over…

But that would mean angering Nana who treats him like one of her own already like she did with Tsuna's friends. Reborn began to feel a little old. He seem to recall having two step-sons, not more than that.

When the backseat door opened, the two immediately went inside. "Tsuna, what happened to your forehead?"

Tsuna laughed sheepishly, "Hayato and Kyouya were at it again, and I got hit by a flying tonfa in the process…"

"You really should be careful about that guy, Tsuna. I don't like him…" Ienari said.

"Not calling me 'Tsuna-nii' anymore? You're harsh Ienari," Tsuna pouted, surprising Reborn when he noticed the added honorific. When he looked at Tsuna who simply smiled, he knew that it happened in-between school hours. "Well…I can't avoid him. Kyouya is already family," Tsuna reasoned. "And Mom will be upset."

Reborn smirked at the rearview mirror as he drove past the school, "More like she would be upset she lost a 'son' and you and Dino would sulk for the rest of your lives,"

"Papa!" Tsuna said with a pout.

Ienari's brow rose, "Why are you so attached to Hibari anyways?"

"Do you really want to know?" Reborn asked.

"Yes?" Ienari said, like it was pretty obvious.

"Papa! Not yet!" Tsuna pleaded. "He's not ready!"

Reborn let out a teasing smile, "Alright, I'll lay off." He retreated, "But I would like to know when you called Tsuna 'Tsuna-nii,' Ienari,"

"That was just a slip of the tongue!"

When he saw Ienari turn red, he knew that he had averted the subject of Tsuna's relation to Hibari. He figured it was time for him to resume the teasing he does on every student he handles, "Real smooth, Ienari. I thought it would take you a few more months, but three days? That's a record. Are you trying to beat Longchamp in his record of befriending an estranged acquaintance in less than thirty minutes?"

"I am not!" Ienari denied. "And besides, when is it your business what I call him?"

"Cheeky brat. Since you're already feel like talking back to me like that again, why don't we resume your daily training, hmm?" he threatened with a smirk.

"No way!" Ienari refused. "The Ninth told me this would be a training-free zone."

"And it is up to me if it will be lifted. Which I am declaring right now," Reborn declared. "By Saturday, prepare for your return to hell, Baka-Nari."

"Evil tutor!" Ienari shouted as they drove towards home.

…

Nana was sure that Ienari was quickly settling in the normalcy of their home. Well, as normal as she could see it. She had been torn when she had heard what happened to him in Italy a month ago, and was furious at her husband for allowing him to ever think of doing that to himself. She had enough horror in her life when Tsuna had been in that state, but not in the way that Ienari had done.

Parenting was something that Nana loved to do, and she reveled in it every time she sees her son and 'adopted' sons interacting in the house, whether it be in the house or outside when they have school work and when they help out at the restaurant. At least that was one quality she has that her ex-husband never had. She had been a single mother for the first three years after the divorce, and it was hard for a mother to secure a job even with the alimony Iemitsu gave her. She was going to use that to fund Tsuna's education. In the end, with Tsuna's urging, she managed to put up a small restaurant that immediately grew over the years. Even her long-time friend, Yamamoto Tsuyoshi, had supported her, as long as she doesn't get any ideas and start centering her menus on sushi.

It gave her the necessary income to send her son to a proper school and be relaxed.

Until the bullying to her son got worse.

Shaking those thoughts away, she resumed her drive back to the house after finishing up with her updated accounts and bills. She saw that her husband's car had just parked, and Ienari was giving Reborn the evil eye.

"Ara? What's the matter, Nari?" she asked as she approached the three males.

Ienari pouted as he looked at Reborn, "Reborn said I would resume my training starting Saturday,"

"Running to your mother now, Baka-Nari?" Reborn taunted.

Nana simply smiled, glad that her son was interacting with her without the awkwardness that had been evident since he arrived in Namimori. While it upset her so, she knew that he was not really himself these days. Not after what happened. But now that her husband was wearing a smirk, then that means…

She smiled brightly, "Well, if he says you're ready, then that's fine!" she said approvingly.

"Eh?" he looked back at his brother, "Tsuna! Say something!"

Tsuna raised his hands in surrender while laughing, "Don't look at me. I'm just here to laugh at you," he teased.

Reborn smiled satisfactorily, "If there are no objections, then we resume on Saturday first thing in the morning."

"You are so unfair Reborn!" Ienari said in defeat as they entered the house.

"I live to see you suffer as my student, Baka-Nari."

Yes. Her son was doing just fine. But one thing still bothers her…

…

"Dear…" Nana called out to her husband when the two teenagers were upstairs taking their bath.

Reborn looked at Nana as he dried the dishes. "What is it?"

Nana turned off the running tap, "How long will you and Nari be here?" she asked. "When you told me a week ago that you and Nari will be coming here for him to recover from what happened…I wondered how long I will have my son with me, and how long before you go back to being a freelance hitman again…"

The hitman could see the worry and longing in the eyes of his wife. It has been eight years since she last saw her youngest son, and she would do anything to spend time with Ienari as much as possible, even if she was now handling a restaurant. It sent a small smile to Reborn as he approached her and embraced her from behind, "As long as it takes, Nana," he said. "As long as Ienari is not ready to face his future, he would stay here to get all the support he needs, including me, Tsuna, and especially you," he assured.

Smiling once more, Nana leaned into his embrace. It always made her feel protected every time Reborn does that, and she loves ever bit of it. She never experienced this kind of feeling while she was married to Iemitsu. It was always something akin to puppy love. But what she felt for the man with her now, all she could tell was that she knew that the man she married would protect her and care for her along with her sons, even if they were not his own.

"Well, I suppose we have to make the best of it," Nana decided as she tore away from Reborn, "I can't wait until Ienari meets all of my adopted sons~!"

Reborn twitched at that. He had to be reminded of the brats that Nana took into her care (even the ones who has parents). "You love your sons more than me…"

Nana giggled as she looked at her sulking husband. "Aw, don't be jealous!" she turned to embrace his broad shoulders. "You're still number one in my heart after Tsu-kun and Nari,"

A smile graced the hitman's face, "You sure know how to boost my ego,"

"I thought it didn't need boosting after I told you that you were better than Iemitsu."

"Sweetheart, I'm _always _better than Iemitsu." Reborn replied as he leaned closer to her.

But before the two could go further, Ienari walked in on them, "Hey Mom, Tsuna wanted to tell you that—WHOA!" he exclaimed as his hands covered his eyes and turned back. "I DID NOT NEED TO SEE THAT!"

Reborn and Nana sprang away from each other, the woman turning red, and the hitman wearing a scowl. Just one of the disadvantages of having kids.

"What did you need Nari?" Nana asked, bringing herself back together.

"No, no, don't mind me! I'll just go back upstairs!" Ienari said as he stormed back up the stairs, stumbling at least once as he made a beeline to Tsuna's room.

Reborn heaved a frustrated sigh. With the mood gone, time with his wife was ruined. He'll give the kid hell come Saturday.

…

Tsuna was freshly out of the bath when Ienari slammed the door open, looking like he's seen a ghost. "Ienari? Did you tell Mom?"

"I didn't manage to! Mom and Reborn were all affectionate, and it brought me to a state of shock and mental scarring!" Ienari complained.

That made the older teen laugh, "Well it has been a month since Papa had last been home,"

"And you knew that was going to happen?"

"Fifty-fifty," his brother admitted.

"You are the meanest brother ever," Ienari said bluntly.

Tsuna laughed, "Don't take it too personally. I've had my share of walking in on them once in a while." He shared.

"And exposing me to such a thing means…?"

"Sharing the burden I have to go through with seeing my parents all affectionate," Tsuna said as he patted a space on his bed motioning for Ienari to sit on the bed. "Now, I did tell you earlier this week that I would ask you how you've been coping with all of this," he said.

Ienari nodded. "Yeah…I remember…"

"So…?" Tsuna urged him to continue.

"Well, seeing Reborn in something other than a suit and fedora is one thing," he joked, "But being in a homey environment after eight years is really refreshing…"

"And the school?" Tsuna pried.

Ienari sighed, "My classmates won't stop telling me about you telling stories about the two of us," when Tsuna smiled sheepishly, he asked, "Care to explain?"

"Haha…they told you? Well, I pretty much tell them of my childhood during afternoon sessions when they're all so tight-lipped about sharing things about them. Other than that, I didn't expect them to think fondly of you that fast," he confessed. "Most of them are tight-lipped about what brought them here, and I had to share something good in order for them to open up to me,"

"Even me," Ienari said instantly. He immediately slapped his hand on his mouth the moment that flowed out in the blue. His eyes widened and looked at Tsuna who was now looking a bit worried.

"Even you, Ienari," Tsuna admitted. "But on your case, you have no recollection on why it sent you over the edge, and I'm pretty worried. Some of the other students have the same trauma as yours, and when they come back, they do it with a vengeance,"

At that moment, the mood turned a little down. Ienari never really did recall why he forgot the specific reason why he had attempted to cut himself, but he knew that it was not pretty. He was just not ready to open up a possibility to Tsuna just yet. He doesn't think he would understand. "I…I don't really know why, but…can I…not say anything about this right now?"

Tsuna nodded in approval. "Of course. I'm not prying about your internal conflict, but remember this, Ienari, I'm always here to listen to everything," he promised.

Somehow, Ienari felt reassured about his brother's promise. "Thanks, Tsuna,"

"No problem." The brunette smiled back. "Now, you can get back to your room. I'll tell Mom about my schedule for tomorrow myself." He said as the two of them got out of Tsuna's bedroom. When Tsuna was sure that Ienari was back in his bedroom after a goodnight bid, his face turned from happy into worried as he stared at Ienari's door.

Descending down the stairs where he knows his parents were spending time with each other, he appeared at the living room where Reborn was having his nightly espresso. Nana was at the kitchen preparing things for tomorrow's breakfast, "Papa?" he called out to the hitman.

Reborn's head turned from the sofa to look at his son's eyes. One look from him was enough for him to motion Tsuna to take a seat across from him. Tsuna followed his silent instruction without question.

"How did your talk go?"

Tsuna sighed as he looked back at his father, "It's starting out well, but when the issue of his attempt came about…he seriously said to that he couldn't recall the specific reason that drove him on the edge," he informed, "Where were you when Ienari did it?"

"I went to check on Dino's progress as usual. I got the call from Ganauche telling me that Ienari was rushed to the hospital just minutes after they found him in his room. He was late for lunch, as the maids told me. When they caught the scent of blood, they immediately called in the men to open the door forcefully. Ganauche was the one who did it. They found Ienari in the bathroom with him on the bathtub with a bloody wrist and soaking in blood water," Reborn informed.

It was a bit morbid, and Reborn had no qualms in getting rid of the sugarcoating when Tsuna was concerned. He's had a fair share of seeing and imagining morbid things in rare times, which was why Tsuna was taking his words in properly without looking mortified.

"I see…" Tsuna said. "Papa, I'm worried when Ienari will start to recall bits and pieces about it…"

Reborn gazed at the worried look on Tsuna. It was never good when he looks so lost, not knowing what to do with the situation. In his time as his father, there were only small instances that he looked like that, and even more when he became a counselor. He had the sense of having to be present every time a student of the Rehabs are sent to the hospital on an emergency along with the doctor-teacher that the student is assigned to.

Standing up, he went in front of his son and ruffled his fluffy brown hair to calm him down. He gazed at the pool of worried and bewildered caramel eyes that was so like a lost puppy, Reborn had to give himself the reasoning that he had to reassure Tsuna that everything was going to be fine. "Don't stress yourself out about something that you can't help, Tsuna," he lectured. "What will happen is nothing compared to what Ienari would feel afterwards. All we could do is to be there for him when that happens. You understand me?"

When Tsuna nodded, Reborn smiled, "That's my boy." He gave him a kiss on the forehead, "Now, get some sleep. You still need to get up for your shift at the restaurant,"

"Are you going to help out in the kitchens tomorrow?"

Reborn smiled, "Assuming Hayato helps out, yes. We can even rope Baka-Nari in on helping out. He'd make a good bust boy,"

**TBC**

**A bit of R77 moment there, but yeah, I personally think that kids are meant to destroy the 'love'** **mood of the parents. It's in our nature! Haha!**

**It feels good to be back and writing again, but if you're not looking at my modified profile, you could see that I decided to take down the revised sequel of Turning the Tables entirely and get back to the original one. My explanation is right at my profile, so those who are reading this and that fic, then look straight at my profile for the reason. **

**I'll be out of the house starting the second week of May, and out and about in my paternal province, so slow updates are to be expected. (this is sounding like a weather forecast)**

**But until then, I'll try to put up as many chapters as I can before the lack of internet gets to me, and when school starts in June.**

**Oh, and to those who wants a pairing in this fic, let me know in your reviews. It can pertain to any character pairing, and the one who has the most votes will be the final pairing~ most are asking for the favorite 1827, and one mentioned an 8059 in passing. Honestly, I was ready to throw in D18 and just put in a brotherly 1827, but the reviewers really do like Hibari being the protective boyfriend of our little Tuna-fish! So before I get on with it, I want to establish the pairings by the next chapter or so.**


	6. Chapter 6

**And the reviewers has cast their votes. 1827 it is! I also threw in some 8059 in the pairings as well, and I will add another pretty soon. Just don't ask what and when, but it has something to do with Ienari ;)**

**Additional notes are right below the chapter!**

**Chapter 6**

Saturday found Ienari being violently woken up by the ever popular Leon Mallet. He knew that it would happen eventually, he just didn't expect it to happen again a week after he got out of Italy.

After a few minutes of struggling and threats of being shot, Ienari found himself helping out in the family restaurant as one of the waiters. Reborn had opted him to start out as a bust boy, but Nana objected, saying that he would socialize with more people if he becomes a waiter. Thus began Ienari's training to carry small trays without roller skates for beginners.

"Ienari, order at table sixteen," Reborn said as he handed him a small tray with sweets.

"On it," Ienari said as he took the small tray and went on to the table number that Reborn had assigned him to. It was peak hours, meaning all staff had to be running around serving orders. Even the kitchen was in chaos that none of the cooks are allowed to slack off, or meet the head chef's (Reborn) rage.

"Tsuna, table ten," he took out a larger tray and Tsuna took it with ease, all the while, wearing roller skates.

Ienari was a bit jealous of the unnoticeable strength and hand and feet coordination of his brother, "How do you manage to carry that thing with a lot of plates?" he asked as the two went on the same direction on the tables. "And wearing those, for that matter,"

Tsuna smiled nonchalantly, "If you have a dad who pesters you to get stronger and work out and a mother who urges you to push your limit, you'd manage to carry this much soon enough," he shared.

"Point taken," Ienari replied as he and Tsuna parted ways and he went on to serve tables sixteen, a group of girls giggling like there was no tomorrow. "Here's your strawberry shortcake, two cream puffs, and double chocolate mousse," he said as he placed the orders on their tables.

"Thanks!" the girls said unison. Ienari could tell that they were trying to get his attention, but it was useless on their case.

Instead of voicing things out, he merely smiled and went on his way. When he returned to the counter, Reborn was there setting up the other orders.

"You know, the purpose of you helping out with Tsuna on the weekends is for you to socialize more," he informed.

The blond rolled his eyes, "Socializing is different from flirting, and I have no intention of doing that." He replied defiantly as he took the two smaller trays for his assigned tables.

Reborn watched as he approached the customers with the proper greeting and conduct. Ienari never had a problem with courtesy with authority and other people. He just has a problem with his peers. Ienari can act all respectful and diplomatic, but when thrust into the social circle, he becomes an instant wallflower. Something that Reborn knew he can't cure unless he has found true friends.

And he did find him friends eventually, but all of them were kept at arm's length by the blond who has a lot of issues regarding friends who takes advantage of him, and friends who are only there to destroy his morals.

Reborn smirked as he saw the liveliness return to Ienari. Him making up with Tsuna is a plus. But the one thing they all needed was missing. Something that Ienari couldn't remember.

Reborn swore to himself that the moment he finds the one responsible for Ienari's attempted suicide, that person is going to get it.

And he bets once his friends find out where he was right now, they would come to his rescue whether he wants it or not. His current location is currently being kept as a secret, but if Reborn knew Ienari's friends, they would eventually start to show up in less than a month. Which brings him to the issue of his cellphone that was taken from him by Iemitsu the moment he found out that his son was associating with the Gesso and Simon heir.

Speaking of which…

He approached Tsuna who was taking the large tray to another table. "Tsuna,"

Tsuna tilted his head, "What is it, Papa?"

"Where's the delinquent?" he wondered.

"Ah. Kyouya's doing some delivery with Tetsuya for the rest of the day, saying he doesn't want to cause a ruckus inside the restaurant should Ienari see him." he informed. "He goes in and out the back door,"

Reborn raised a brow, "So that's why Ienari is still not questioning us for our questionable weekend teenage staff," he mused. "When do you plan on telling him?"

"Not when he's not really prepared to know that his big brother is playing for the home team," Tsuna whispered.

It was rare for Reborn to see Tsuna's brother worries reappear, and he was rather glad that Tsuna still has that despite the two of them not talking after eight years. "He's not going to start avoiding you if you tell him,"

"You don't know that…"

"Then what's the harm in telling?" Reborn urged.

Tsuna sighed, "Table Three needs their ramen…" he said as he left the counter.

"Remember Tsuna, the only time the two of you can repair your relationship is if the two of you are very open with each other." He whispered to him before he went back inside the kitchen where Gokudera was.

…

At lunch break, Ienari found himself sighing at the backdoor. He never knew working at a restaurant was harder than Reborn's training. Or he might just be saying that because he needed to socialize with other people, unlike with Reborn, he was spared with the embarrassment to be seen in boxers.

"Hah…air." Ienari sighed the moment he got out, not noticing another person beside him.

"First days are always tiring."

Ienari jolted up when he heard the voice. Turning his head, he saw Gokudera leaning on the wall, chewing nicotine gum. "Gokudera-san…" he addressed as he tried to calm his heart down. Recently, he has always been startled by people, especially the popping Yamamoto Takeshi who he had been taken to the moment he came running down the school with a first aid kit when Tsuna had been hit point blank by the tonfa of Hibari. Reborn had done that to him hundreds of times, but it seems he can never be used to such surprises. Normally he can sense someone's presence, but for those who are good with hiding, it was pretty hard unless he was alert.

"You're doing well for someone who started out only hours ago," he complimented.

"Uh…thanks…"

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not complimenting you just because you're the future Vongola Decimo,"

As soon as Gokudera said that, Ienari was in attention. "You…you really are Smoking Bomb Hayato, aren't you?" he asked.

He has heard a lot about Smoking Bomb Hayato. Disappeared at the age of fourteen, said to have been taken in by Trident Shamal. His half-sister, Poison Scorpion Bianchi, had been looking for him ever since, but found no trace of him, until she heard of Reborn's intention to marry a woman in Japan. So when he met him at the special school the other day, he was shocked to see an Italian in Japan.

Gokudera simply nodded. "Yeah. But I took a break from the mafia when I got sent to the school. I seriously did what I told you when we were introduced by Tsuna-san." He informed. "I didn't want to go back in the world that killed my mother."

"How did Bianchi-san take all of this?" Ienari asked. "I mean, she's been looking for you high and low the moment you disappeared. She has to have seen you at Reborn and Mom's wedding,"

For some reason, remembering made Gokudera groan. "Oh fuck. I did _not_ want to remember the day Aneki had almost ruined the engagement." He stated. "Back then, she was still hung up on Reborn-san even though they had broken it off six years ago. The moment she heard he was marrying Nana-san, she went on a rampage and tried to feed her poison cooking,"

"She did what?!" Ienari was shocked. He knew the Poison Scorpion was vicious, but not like this! He was even almost killed by the same method back when Reborn had just started to train him, and it was abysmal.

Gokudera nodded. "I've never seen Reborn-san that furious when Nana-san was hospitalized." He cringed at the memory. An angry hitman is not a good thing. Bianchi learned that the hard way. "But to our surprise, Nana-san simply forgave her, saying it wasn't the first time she was assaulted by a former lover."

Ienari didn't know what is up with her mother for forgiving a woman who tried to kill her because of her fiancé, but he already has a hunch on what she had thought at that time, knowing his mother. "She probably understood that anyone can be driven mad by love," he said so outwardly that the teen beside him looked at him incredulously. He raised a brow, "What? Didn't think I have been in the same situation before?"

"Nah. Just surprised that you can think that way. Guess it runs in your family." He mused as he spit out the gum to a slip of paper before discarding it in the nearby trash. "My break's almost over. And you should do some socializing with the customers. They like it when the waiters are chatty,"

"What about you?" Ienari wondered.

"I work in the kitchen. So instead of chatting with the customers, we make sure the food is good before it's served. Only Reborn-san and I know some of the restaurant's Italian recipes, and that's saying something," he said as he went back inside, leaving Ienari with his own thoughts.

…

Fifteen minutes later, he was back inside, and a peculiar group had entered the now half-full restaurant. It consisted of three girls and a boy who looked like one's older brother. Since Ienari was by the entrance cleaning up the vacant table, he was the one saddled with the greeting (Nana's rules).

"Good afternoon. Table for four?" he offered.

"Ah! You're new here?" the girl with strawberry blond hair asked him with a one thousand watt smile. Ienari could swear that she was glowing.

Ienari nodded in return. "I just started today," he informed.

He was about to say more when the lone boy with white hair and a bandage on his nose looked at him closely. "You extremely look like Sumeragi!" he exclaimed, scaring Ienari out of his wits.

'_Is this another one I have to live with besides Reborn and the other nutcases in my life?!'_ he thought. "H-How do you know my older brother?"

It was then when the brown haired girl squeaked, "Hahi! Are you really Tsuna-san's little brother, Ienari-san?"

"And…you people are…?" Ienari asked, trying not to have an anxiety attack at the moment. He didn't do well with more than two people looking at him like some sort of specimen. It didn't sit right with him.

"Ah! Sorry for being rude. I'm Sasagawa Kyoko, and these are my friends, Hana and Haru." She gestured to the third girl with black hair, and the brown haired girl respectively. "This is my older brother," she gestured at the only boy in the group.

"SASAGAWA RYOHEI AT YOUR EXTREME SERVICE!" he shouted with glee, making Ienari flinch at the tone.

"Ah, I thought I heard Onii-san's voice," Tsuna's voice appeared from the back door and bladed down to the entrance of the restaurant. "Hello. Nice to see you back here,"

"Tsuna-kun!" Kyoko greeted gladly with a faint blush on her cheeks.

Ienari raised a brow. _'Oh? A regular customer with a crush on Tsuna. But why?'_ Ienari hadn't seen this girl in the school before, not even in the pictures Nana showed him about the school after his first day. He has never seen the girl before. So that would mean that she was a student of a different school.

"I see you've met my little brother. This is Sawada Ienari," he introduced. "Ienari, meet Sasagawa Ryohei, my upperclassman during my elementary days, Sasagawa Kyoko, his little sister, my classmate during elementary during fourth to fifth grade along with Kurokawa Hana, and Miura Haru, their fellow sweets enthusiast from Midori Girl's Academy." He introduced. "Apart from Haru-san, they all attend Namimori High School," he informed. "They're our regular customers,"

"I see…" Ienari muttered. "Then shall I show you to your preferred table?"

"The table by the large windows," Tsuna motioned to the corner of the restaurant where the floor to ceiling windows overlooking the street was at. He then left them for Ienari to take care of the group.

Taking out his notebook, he placed on his mannered smile and asked, "So, what could we get you for today?"

Haru started her order, "I'd like to start with the chocolate cream puff and some green tea."

"A slice of blueberry cake for me and vanilla shake," Hana ordered.

"Tiramisu for me and espresso," Kyoko said.

"Just some black tea for me and honey toast," Ryohei said in a calmer manner.

Ienari jotted them down diligently and nodded, "I'll be back with your order shortly," he told them before he went to the counter to stick in the orders from the notepad.

He was surprised when Reborn immediately handed him glasses filled with water. "Take these to them to wash off the sweets later on. They prefer it this way," he advised.

"How long have they been a regular customer?" he asked.

"Since the restaurant opened. Now go and make friends," he shoo-ed him from the counter as he took the order to call it to Gokudera and the kitchen staff.

"What is this, part host club?" he muttered. Sighing, Ienari simply followed his instructions. There was no use in disobeying his tutor in the restaurant. Placing the water glasses on the table, Haru stroked a conversation, "Ienari-san, how long have you been back here in Namimori?" she asked.

"Um…just a week ago. I was in Italy for eight years, in case Tsuna didn't tell you," he informed them.

"Oh, he told us _everything_." Hana stated as she sipped her water. "He never stopped talking about you and your little superhero stunts,"

He could tell that his face was slowly turning red. "Um…well, what else did Tsuna tell you?"

Ryohei was the one who answered, "How you leaving Namimori were one of the causes of his cuts, for one," Ienari shivered at his stare. He had noticed that he had gone silent the moment he had been formally introduced to them, and it wasn't doing anything for his jitters.

"Onii-chan!" Kyoko chided. "Sorry about my brother, Ienari-san. He's a bit touchy when it comes to Tsuna-kun's…well, you know," she stated.

"I'm not blaming him or anything," Ryohei denied. "I'm just saying, he shouldn't leave his brother any longer. Even I can't leave you alone for more than a day when you're more than five miles away from me,"

"That's different. They were separated because of the divorce." Hana chided.

"To be honest? Dad didn't let me near any phone calls to Japan." Ienari confessed. Iemitsu had been strict with him regarding international calls, and will be tight lipped when he asked to call his mother in the early days of the divorce. But over time, Ienari simply never asked again, knowing that he won't get the approval that he wanted from his father. On the off chance that his mother called and asked for him, he would refuse, not wanting to upset his father any further. When he says no, his father seemed to be smug all the time.

Not really the first thing you should say about yourself when meeting new people…

"Eh? But that's…" Haru started.

But Ienari held up his hand and shook his head with a small smile, "No, it's fine. I got the message not to ask him about what's happening. I have a different source on how to know if they're doing fine. Dino-san frequently visits here, so I get most of my information from him," he shared, "He even showed me pictures of everyone at Mom and Reborn's wedding."

"Ah, I remember that wedding! Nana-san was so beautiful in her gown! Reborn-san spent the majority of their budget in her dress!" Kyoko and Haru gushed about the wedding dress.

'_Every cent alright…'_ Ienari thought. He could still remember himself almost having a heart attack when Dino told him the price of the custom made wedding gown.

"_You see, Reborn said he only intend to marry once, so why not go all the way? That was both convincing and romantic at that time."_ Dino had said to him what Reborn had explained concerning the million-euro _small_ wedding.

"So, did your dad remarry?" Hana inquired.

Ienari shook his head. "Nope. There were dates that never got anywhere, but the closest one was the widow of a mafia boss. Though that didn't last very long when I tried to pull a prank that was meant for Ganauche, one of my grandfather's friends," he said, and couldn't help but wince at the memory when his father had sent him to his room when the woman had been soaked with salt water.

"Ienari, orders," Reborn called from the counter.

"Coming," Ienari replied as he excused himself for a moment as he went to get their orders.

As Ienari was trying to listen to Reborn on how to carry two trays properly without 'slipping and or tripping like Tsuna did the first time,' (Tsuna had protested at the mention of his name) the four whispered to each other.

"I kind of like him," Hana said. "He's not a stuck-up brat that I assumed he was when I heard he lived in style,"

"Yeah, but onii-chan, your coldness was uncalled for!" Kyoko chided.

"I was simply extremely assessing him! I didn't mean anything by it!" Ryohei reasoned.

Haru took a glance at Ienari, "But if Ienari-san goes to Tsuna-san's school, then that would mean…"

"It's either he's a ruffian like Gokudera, or he's recovering from some sort of trauma," Hana stated. "But since he's not violent, he might be a Rehab student. He's wearing long sleeves, which means he's hiding the same thing Tsuna was hiding in his early days,"

"But why?" Haru asked.

Hana adjusted in her seat. "Living in style is not always a good thing for one's mental state. Many will use you for your connections and names, and will discard you when you're useless. I guess he has that kind of fear, and he keeps people away from him. I'm guessing taunts and rumors of his 'rudeness' will go with it, also a parent who always expects too much of you, and voila, you have a kid who has a lot of stress built up and had exploded in the form of cuts."

Just in time, Ienari returned with their orders the blond felt that things went on a bit awkward for a few seconds, before they resumed their conversation from earlier.

…

Six o'clock came, and the family of four left the restaurant back to their house.

Reborn checked their mailbox for him to see a small package with a note attached to it. He smirked when he saw the message on it.

_Finally nicked it from Iemitsu. Don't worry, Ninth supports this._

_Colonello_

Turning to Ienari who was about to enter the house, he called out, "Ienari. We need to talk in the living room," he informed.

Ienari simply nodded and the two made their way to the living room while Nana and Tsuna cooked dinner for the night.

"What is it Reborn?" Ienari asked as they sat on the couch.

"Remember your precious phone that Iemitsu took from you three months ago?"

Ienari scoffed. That was one of the times that he admitted to himself that he hated his father's strictness. "Yeah. I remember when he went ballistic when he found out I've been associating with people he didn't want me to meet." He replied. The word friends was never in his dictionary since finding out that a lot of them were only after the connections attached to his person, but he could admit that a few managed to get under his skin. The problem was, most of them were not normal.

"How would you like to defy your father?"

"Whoa, whoa, wait, is it safe for me?" Ienari asked. The last time he tried one of Reborn's schemes, he almost died. Okay, _all_ of Reborn's schemes almost killed him.

Reborn feigned thinking about it for a while. "No, not really." He threw him the small package. "Colonello sent that to me earlier. Took a while, but we found it,"

Ienari caught it and felt a familiar weight on the package. Raising his brow he unwrapped the manila wrapper to see the box of his smartphone. It was a gift from Timoteo on his fifteenth birthday, but it was taken by Iemitsu the moment he saw his contacts list containing names that he didn't really like. "My phone…"

"Just think what Iemitsu will do the moment he finds out your phone is out of his hands. Don't worry, Colonello made sure it wasn't bugged before sending it. Verde also made sure that all of your calls will be in a secure line."

A smile graced Ienari's lips. "Thanks, Reborn."

And with Reborn ruffling his hair like always, things got better for Ienari.

…

That night after dinner and a bath, Ienari looked at his phone. It has been three months since it was confiscated, and he was glad that it was still in once piece, and not in a million pieces like he thought when his father took it away.

Opening the phone, he checked his contacts, making sure that his father didn't know his passcode. He was right at that notion, as all of his contacts were still intact, save for some additional numbers, which were Tsuna's and his mother's numbers. _'Verde-san must have done this…'_ he thought.

Five minutes later, he deemed the contents of his phone intact, even his apps. He was about to close it when it received a call.

_**Marshmallow Lunatic**_

Ienari rolled his eyes. "Of course, he's the one who always knew how to track me…" he muttered as he pressed the 'answer' button. "Hello, Marshmallow."

A laugh was heard on the other line. _"It's been three months since we've talked on the phone, and a month since you've let us see you, Nari-chan." _A teenage male's voice greeted.

"Things happened." He replied plainly.

"_Ooh, do tell!" _

"Pretty long, but I'll spare you the details of what you _already_ know."

"_Which is _a lot_." _The boy sassed.

The blond frowned, "Do you want me to tell you or not? Which is it?"

"_Haha! Temper there Nari-chan! Fine, tell me all about what happened since a month ago. How does that sound?"_

"Perfect enough…" Ienari replied as he took in a deep breath and relayed what he knew and what happened to him the past month.

**TBC**

**Cookies for those who would guess the caller (It's pretty obvious once you think about it)!**

**Now we see Kyoko, Haru, Hana and Ryohei! But they won't have much of a role here, but Ryohei is a bit…well, OOC because of his startling attitude. Remember that this is an AU, and I'll put in an explanation later on. **

**So, in the end, the character pairings are R77, 1827 and 8059 so far. **

**I'll be on a…land trip—er—road trip or whatever with my relatives on the eighteenth on the way to my dad's province, so I won't be around much this month which is a hassle. I just wish there's internet on where I will be at. If not…well, update will have to wait until the twenty-sixth. Yeah, that long. **

**So I hope you guys understand. I'll try to update another chapter before May 18, provided my plot bunny doesn't leave me for a vacation. **

**-Cathy Rin**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"_Wow~ I wish I was there! I'd like to meet your older brother."_

Ienari rolled his eyes at his statement, "The school is for delinquents and people with mental health problems. It's not a school for lunatics like you."

"_Harsh! I'm not that crazy." _The one on the other line defended. _"Besides, if I'm a lunatic, then what is Reborn?" _

"A Spartan." Ienari replied quickly. "How did you manage to track my phone activity?"

"_You underestimate Shou-chan's laptop. We've been waiting for weeks since you got out of Italy for your phone activity. It just so happens I have his laptop here in my room talking when it caught up with your phone," _he explained.

"You know, it's highly unlikely that I would believe you. I'd say you were stalking me." Ienari said. "Wait, where are you guys anyway?" he wondered.

Byakuran hummed, "Well, since Japanese schools start in April, and we begin in September, Sho-chan's parents agreed for him to stay here at my place. He already has a permanent room here near mine," he informed. It was already August, and school doesn't start in Italy until September.

"Which brings me to guess that you took Irie's laptop without his consent." Ienari guessed.

The other boy let out a whine, _"Perish the thought Nari-chan! I asked for permission." _

"Uh huh," Ienari replied, not really believing him.

Just as he said it, he heard the slamming of a door on the other line. With heavy stomping. _"Byakuran-san! Give me back my laptop! I still have a lot of things to do!" _

"I knew it…" Ienari muttered as he listened in on the conversation on the other line.

"_But Sho-chan, Nari-chan is on the phone! If I hadn't taken your laptop, I wouldn't have known that he finally has his phone back and running!"_

"_That's no excuse when you took it while I was in the shower!" _

"_But because of that, Nari-chan is on the phone with me right now."_

"_Oh? So is Ienari-kun more important than me? Fine! I'm taking the next flight back to Japan and enroll in a different school!" _

"_I didn't say that—shit—Sho-chan come back!"_

A door slamming shut was heard afterwards.

"_Gotta go Nari-chan. See you soon." _ Byakuran said as he went after the other person as he hung up.

Ienari sighed exasperatedly. Up until now, he wonders why he was still senile, being acquaintances with the white haired lunatic known as Byakuran, the heir of the Gesso Famiglia. He had met him at school, where he was his classmate since eighth grade. He didn't know what he did, but the Gesso heir simply attached himself to him despite the rumors that had been circulating regarding him being someone who keeps to himself and never associates with anyone. Ienari even heard something about if people get near him, they get eliminated.

Whoever spread that rumor received Ienari's eternal condemnation.

But Byakuran didn't really listen, and dragged along his friend Irie Shoichi with him to bother him.

At first, Ienari was really weary of their presence. He tired avoiding them, But Byakuran always seem to know where he was. Ignoring them was the hardest thing to do as Byakuran will pester him incessantly until he finally snapped and gave in.

Not long after that, another friend joined in with them.

All of a sudden, Ienari dropped his phone on the bed. He clutched his head, feeling a headache coming on. Clutching his head with his hands, he slowly collapsed on the bed, straight to the pillow. He shut his eyes tightly as the pain got worse. "Ugh…" he groaned as the headache was marring his vision. On the forefront of his mind, he saw flashes of white walls, a corridor, people moving around in lab coats and scrubs, and a lone red head at the window of the ICU attached to several machines.

"_**It's your fault he's there!" **_

"_**No! It was an accident! I didn't mean to!"**_

"_**Don't blame this on him! You people are at fault, allowing him to get pushed around by others and not doing anything!" **_

"_**Stay out of this, Gesso bastard! It's his fault!"**_

"_**Please…it's not…"**_

_**SLAP!**_

_**CRASH!**_

"_**How dare you!" **_

"_**Byakuran, no! Stop! I'm fine!" **_

"_**No you're not! These people are blaming their own mistakes on you." **_

"_**How dare you accuse us?!" **_

"_**NO! How dare YOU?!"**_

Immediately, he shot up from his bed, face dripping with cold sweat and eyes wide. "What…?" he wondered as he felt the headache recede. _'What was that? A memory? But…I can't remember when that happened…who is that in the ICU?'_ unconsciously, his hand went to his cheek, remembering the painful sensation of being slapped and crashing with something behind him. The problem was, the memory was hazy to decipher.

He shrugged, _'Probably just something I thought of. And Byakuran coming to my rescue? I don't remember anything like that.'_ Picking up the phone again, he checked if he had any mails in the three months that it had been out of his reach. So far, it was full of junk mails, and messages from Byakuran the Marshmallow Lunatic. A few were from Irie, and an unknown number, which earned a raised brow on Ienari's part.

There were several unknown emails, and he read each one of them, thinking that it might be important.

_10:45 PM_

_I'm sorry for how the way they acted. Please pick up my calls. It's not your fault. _

_8:23 AM_

_At least visit me. I want to see you._

_3:52 PM_

_Why aren't you coming?_

_5:17 PM_

_Where are you?_

_7:39 PM_

_Don't you need me anymore?_

_9:22 PM_

_Please, just pick up…_

_10:11 PM_

_Whatever they said to you, I can clear it up. Please. Just talk to me._

_12:16 AM_

_Why won't you pick up?_

"Who is this?" Ienari wondered. The first message was dated a day after he was hospitalized himself, and four days since he detached himself from every Vongola staff aside from Timoteo's two youngest guardians, Brow Nie and Ganauche.

So who was the mysterious messenger?

…

"You gave Ienari his phone back?" Tsuna asked Reborn as the hitman stopped by in his room.

Reborn nodded. "I figured he needed to get in contact with his friends, now that Iemitsu is not there to stop him."

Tsuna sighed as he spun his swivel chair by his study desk. "Sometimes I wonder why the deadbeat goes to that length to bar him from anything he deems 'dangerous.'"

"Like everyone says, he's not good at parenting. At all." Reborn had seen first-hand on how Iemitsu raised Ienari. The man was strict with the boy, and his small act of rebellion against Iemitsu was befriending Byakuran, the Gesso heir that Iemitsu didn't like.

For some, the Gesso and the Vongola heir becoming friends is a good (or bad, depending on either they were allies or enemies) thing for both sides. They would benefit greatly should a friendship be born from their association, but the External Advisor thinks otherwise.

Tsuna raised a brow while smiling, "How is your protective parenting differ from Iemitsu?" he asked.

"I certainly didn't stop you when you befriended that delinquent." Reborn replied with a small smile. "But I have to say, my judgment was quite right when I allowed you to, since he had been the key to your recovery."

"And yet you threatened to shoot him and turn him into Swiss cheese the moment he asked your permission to date me." Tsuna teased.

Reborn frowned, "Well, at least that boy was respectful and knew the proper way of wooing the parents. Your mother had taken to him instantly, which pretty much set the deal."

Tsuna smiled as he leaned back. "Coming into contact with his friends again might cheer Ienari up. And maybe, his memories will return…" he frowned, "Or it could backfire."

"He needs more freedom than what Iemitsu has given him, if it was even called _freedom_." Reborn stated.

"What amazes me is that he never categorized them as 'friends' despite the fact that he had been bickering with the lot of them." Tsuna said as he looked at Ienari's photos that Dino had sent him months back, when he was still in contact with his 'acquaintances.'

"He has a lot of doubt on him, and never really trusted anyone. I can tell that even Ienari doesn't know how to call the Gesso heir and the inventor friend of his." Reborn explained. "But one thing's for sure. Byakuran can help Ienari." Reborn assured. He then took out a file, "Now, can you help me plan our anniversary?"

Tsuna giggled. "Not just yet. Let's bring in Ienari's opinion in this matter."

…

"So, _why _are the two of you in my room again?" Ienari wondered. He had just tucked his phone away when the two had barged in and made themselves comfortable in his room.

"So we could plan Mom and Papa's fifth anniversary surprise?" Tsuna answered innocently.

Ienari groaned, "Yeah, but why in my room?"

"If we do it in the living room, your mother would find out. And I prefer it stays between the three of us." Reborn stated, sitting on Ienari's study chair.

Groaning, Ienari succumbed to his fate. Though he figured it might be fun. His mother does need the relaxation once in a while. When they were kids, Ienari didn't remember anything about vacations. Just a normal day out on the playground, the park, and picnics. Never escapades.

"Fine. What have you got?" he finally asked.

Tsuna placed the travel magazines on the bed where he and Ienari were sitting. "Papa suggested that we go on another week-long trip."

"Wait, wait," Ienari held up his hands, "'We'?"

"Of course!" Tsuna huffed. "Their wedding was on December fifteen, and we spend Christmas at wherever Papa decides their anniversary trip would be."

Ienari didn't really know how to respond to this. Who the hell brings their kid in their anniversary trip? Though it was understandable since the anniversary falls on Christmas.

"Although our school calendar says our vacation starts on the twentieth, so they have five days to themselves," Tsuna said, knowing what his little brother was thinking, and it assured Ienari that they would not interrupt their 'special moments' with their presence.

With a sigh, Ienari pointed at the article with a beach resort, "Why not just take her to a beach?" Ienari asked, and then looked at Reborn.

"That's overrated, and I did that twice in different places. I want something different." He said bluntly.

Tsuna laughed lightly. "Papa has…a record of doing things in a grand way when it comes to Mom…" he stated. "On their honeymoon, he took her to the Caribbean in Anguilla for a full month,"

"First to third anniversary?" Ineari asked.

Reborn wore a smug look, "Corsica, Prague, and Santorini."

Ienari whistled. "Talk about European escapade, Reborn,"

"Your mother deserves it."

With a soft grumble, Ienari pored through the travel articles, "Well, if you plan to give her another European escapade, I'd say this is a good choice," he said as he pointed at the world map at the eastern part of Europe.

Tsuna looked closer into it, "Croatia?"

"Specifically, Split. It was said to be the former home of Cupid, the Roman god of Love. I think this is where the story of Psyche was said to have happened. Being the romantic Mom is, I think she'll love it,"

"You've been reading Coyote's books, haven't you?" the hitman guessed.

The blond shrugged, "Eh, got to love Romantic myths." The Storm Guardian of the Ninth had always been a bookworm, so when Ienari had stumbled upon Greek Myths, he was the first person that Ienari went to in order to learn more about them. Ienari even went far to read the book series about a young modern-day demigod and had them all displayed in his shelf. "So, is this it or what?"

The brothers turned to Reborn, whose phone was out. A few more presses in his part later, the hitman brandished a smile. "I'll get it all set up by tonight,"

"You sure do work fast." Ienari mused.

"I'm a hitman." Reborn simply said. "Don't tell your mother, alright?" he said as he left the room for some more calls.

Tsuna chuckled as the door closed, collecting the travel articles, he looked at his little brother, "Their anniversary is not in four months, but still, Papa wants everything ready ahead of time,"

"You know, I never got to know what happened that made them hook up," Ienari said, "I just heard that Mom was dating Reborn from Dino-san, and the next thing I knew, they were getting married before the year was out,"

"That's understandable," Tsuna replied. "Knowing the people you live with, once Mom was divorced, we became normal civilians who should never be involved in the mafia."

"Tell me!" Ienari urged.

Tsuna looked at the determination to know in the eyes of his little brother. Maybe a little puppy dog eyes on the side, and that made him keel over. "Fine. But I'm telling you, there are things that I will omit, okay?"

"Sure," Ienari agreed. On the back of his mind, he wonders if what he would omit was what happened to him when he ended up in the special school.

"Well…where to start…ah! Here it goes…"

That whole night, Tsuna told Ienari what happened that brought about the romance that was the meeting of Reborn and their Mother.

…

**Gesso Mansion, Sicily, Italy**

Byakuran, the heir of the Gesso Famiglia, kept on banging on the dormitory door of one Shoichi Irie an hour before light's out. "Come on Sho-chan! No need to get jealous over Nari-chan! Here's your laptop back!"

From the other side of the door, Shoichi was having fun torturing the white haired teenager. That would teach him from taking his precious laptop. "I will accept your laptop but I won't accept your apology!" he said with an angry voice. Though he was shaking with amusement as he tried to rein in his laughter. It's not everyday Byakuran would bang in your door and beg for forgiveness.

"That's unfair!" Byakuran whined. "Sho-chan if you won't open up, I will have to force it open!"

"You can't do that! The dorm leader would reprimand you." Shoichi reasoned.

"Then I will find another way then," Byakuran declared.

Shoichi became worried when he heard his footsteps disappear. Taking a deep breath, he opened his door and looked at the hallway. It was empty. "He must have given up." He muttered as he closed the door and turned. But the moment he did, he almost had a heart attack. There he was, in the flesh, Byakuran sitting on his bed with a foxy smile.

"I told you I'd find another way," he said.

He looked at his window which was open. Damn it. "You went through my window? Isn't that a bit…cliché?" he asked as he made an annoyed face, letting Byakuran know that he was still very cross with him because of the laptop napping. "And what would you accomplish by barging into my room?"

Byakuran took something from his pocket and handed it to him. "Look,"

Shoichi looked at what Byakuran gave him and stiffened. "What the? Plane tickets to _Japan_? Are you nuts?"

"School doesn't start until September anyway."

"Which is in two weeks!" Shoichi stated.

Byakuran waved his hand carelessly, ignoring his outburst, "And besides, we hadn't seen him since last month."

"Do you realize what would happen if someone outside finds out that we went to Japan?" he lectured.

"I do. But no one else knows that Nari-chan is in Japan, right? We'll just say that you felt a little homesick and had to go home for a while. They would buy it." Byakuran defended.

Shoichi's face darkened, "What about…_them_?"

Byakuran frowned, "What we do is none of their business. They can follow us for all I care, but they're not suicidal as to harm the step-sons of the World's Greatest Hitman. Besides, they wouldn't dare show their faces after what happened to him. They may not be the perpetrator, but they were the reason he did it and forgot." He then looked at him with true hopeful eyes, something that Shoichi knew was genuine. But of course, he too was worried for Ienari and his well-being. After all, they hadn't heard from him since his hospitalization.

"Fine. But we'll only stay there for a week, do you get me?" he bargained.

Byakuran's grin returned, "Yay~!"

…

Meanwhile in Namimori, Ienari felt his spine shiver. Soemthing was going to happen, and he would not like it.

**TBC**

**Yes! I managed to update six days before I leave~!**

**And so, Byakuran and Irie appears! A little bit about Japanese and Italian education: Japan starts their school year in April, while Italy starts theirs in September. The timeline is set in August.**

**Yes, I do have a plan regarding the 'Anniversary Meddling' of the three males of the house. If you realize, I made Nana a December bride. Why? Well, the Winter Wonderland themed wedding is very appealing to me. Which means their anniversary trip will eventually turn into a Christmas trip. In other words, Tsuna and Ienari will be tagging along after a few days. **

**I don't really know if the story of Psyche happened in Split, and I based this on one of my favorite book series by Rick Riordan, Heroes of Olympus, the sequel series of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. If you hadn't read it yet, then I suggest you start now! It's really good!**

**So, Ienari is beginning to see bits and pieces of something, but he is still regarding it as a figment of his imagination, and as for the mysterious messenger, well, I'll keep it mysterious for a little while longer. **

**Oh, before I forget, I got an anonymous reviewer, so I'll put my reply here:**

**Guest: **Yes, I am from the Philippines~!

**Thanks for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 **

_**Five Years Ago**_

_Sumeragi Nana smiled as she closed up the small restaurant that she has been working on for the past three years. _

"_Do you need a ride going back to your home, Sumeragi-san?" her restaurant manager asked. _

_She shook her head in assurance, "Oh, no, I'll be fine. Besides, Tsu-kun must be expecting me," she said with a sad smile. Her baby boy had been distant to him for the past two years now, and she couldn't really fault him. She had become a busy working Mom with barely enough time for her remaining son. _

_Nana kept insisting to cut her time from the restaurant in order to take care of Tsuna more, but the boy simply frowned and lectured her. _

"I don't want to burden you Mom. I understand why you are working all day. You don't need to worry about me."_ He said to her when she suggested cutting her working hours. _

_At once, Nana became worried that her little boy was mad at her for valuing work, and felt herself becoming like her ex-husband who was only home four or five times since their marriage. She didn't want her son to think of her that way. _

_As she locked the restaurant, she bid her manager goodbye and went on her way to the house that she had once lived in as a married woman. The house was a part of the divorce agreement, that she could keep everything inside the house besides her youngest son, Ienari, who was no whisked away to Italy. Thinking about it, Nana felt a surge of utter betrayal towards Iemitsu. The settlement requires her to see Ienari at least once a year, or talk to him on the phone once in a while, but none of that had happened for the past three years._

_There was only one conclusion that Nana could draw out. Her youngest son hated him for her asking for a divorce._

_She had always been alone raising two children, so what does getting a divorce any different? _

_A lot, it would seem. She has had enough of her husband leaving her to take care of the two children alone, not even a scheduled phone call or vacation to ease her mind that her husband was fine and not doing anything that would end up with him being unfaithful. And it would seem that her patience has worn thin towards the man that she once loved. _

_So when he brought up the topic of divorce, not a day later, Iemitsu came rushing to Japan, demanding for an explanation. Talking turned to screaming, until ultimately, Iemitsu got custody of Ienari, and Nana got custody of Tsuna. _

_Now here she is, her entire alimony now invested into her small restaurant—which was doing very well. Her neighbor and high school friend, Tsuyoshi, had helped her build it from the ground up, with unimaginable results. It had been a gamble, but she made it grow and has been having a steady income, enough to provide for her and Tsuna without touching his trust funds. _

_As she was thinking this, she felt some sort of foreboding as she went on her way back home. _

_She didn't know why, but her feet had turned from walking to fast walking. Then she remembered the neighborhood rumors running about regarding a mysterious man lurking around at night. Now she realized why she was feeling nervous. Someone was watching her. _

_Reaching into her bag, she felt the handle of her pistol, the gun she still has even after retiring from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department when she married Iemitsu—a sacrifice that she now regrets. Her cop senses kicked in, and she slowed her walking, intent on drawing out whoever got it in their heads to assault a woman alone in the streets. She listened into her footsteps, and just as she had predicted, the one who was watching over her was synchronizing his or her steps to match hers. _

_A hitman. _

'_Where is the hitman? Left? Right? In front?' she took out her gun and aimed behind by the pole, right above the wall of another house. No resounding bang was heard, as she made it fit to put a silencer on it to avoid any uproar from the neighbors. _

_She looked sternly in the darkness, straining her eyes to see a form of a tall man in a fedora and suit coming down from where she aimed her gun at. Holding her gun still aimed at the form in front of her, she spoke, "Mighty fine of you to follow a woman walking alone in the streets," _

"_A little strange for a civilian to carry firearms," the figure—the man, she concluded, said in a baritone voice with an accent. "Now I wonder if I am still following the same woman I was told to follow," _

_Nana looked into the man, and saw that he was rather tall, and had Italian features. This man was a Mafiosi. "A Mafiosi in Japan, I see," _

"_I came alone, if you want to know," he said calmly, despite having a gun aimed at his head. _

"_Then that means he's not your companion," Nana replied as she re-aimed her gun to a tree nearby. A split second later, a lanky body fell from where she aimed the gun, dead. Putting away her gun, she went near the body and checked his heartbeat. There was none. Beside him was a sniper gun attached to a branch. "This man has been waiting for me all day." She concluded. _

"_Not to worry. I'll have people get rid of it," Reborn assured. _

_Nana looked back, "You sure you can handle it? Because I don't want hearing any reports about someone falling from a tree at this hour." _

_A small smile graced the hitman's lips, "Of course." _

"_Why are you here?" she asked off the bat. Reborn knew she was taking no pleasantries at this moment. _

"_Civilian you may be, Sumeragi Nana, but you were still involved with one of our own, and the mother of one of our heirs." Her eyes sharpened at that, but he paid no heed to it. "I was tasked to watch over you to see if no one else knows that you were once married to the CEDEF leader. And I suppose judging from the sniper, I have some work to do," _

"_To hide my existence and any traces of Vongola here in Namimori." She concluded. "You know, you're lucky I wasn't assigned in organized crime, or else I would have been on a shooting rampage against you," _

_The man seemed amused. "Ah, yes, you were the chief of the Criminal Investigation Bureau, First Division. Chief Inspector Sumeragi Nana of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. You met your now ex-husband when you went undercover as a waitress. Retired early at the age of twenty-two in order to marry said ex-husband, Sawada Iemitsu and moved to Namimori afterwards," _

"_Which is the greatest mistake of my life. Marrying the bastard who could be hunted by my former colleagues." Nana scoffed. "You know who I am, but I don't know you," _

_The man simply bowed respectfully as he removed his fedora, showing his spiky black hair and sideburns. His steel black eyes looked at her with respect. "I'm the World's Greatest Hitman. You may call me Reborn."_

…

"Wait a second! That's not romantic at all!" Ienari protested, interrupting Tsuna's story.

The brunette laughed. "Well, there was a sniper about, and it was in the middle of the night. There's no romantic setting there from the start," he explained. "And don't complain to me. Mom told me that herself."

"I didn't know Mom was a former cop," Ienari stated, laying the 'unromantic first meeting' to rest, knowing he won't be able to decipher how their mother even thought of it as a sort of fated meeting.

"Neither did I. It wasn't until I saw her medals back at our grandparents' house in Tokyo that she told me. The best in her batch, and has a crime solving rate of eighty-five percent. She retired after being engaged with Iemitsu," he explained.

"Why didn't she come back after the divorce?" Ienari wondered. If she had such an impressive record, then the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department should have at least tried to persuade her into returning to the force after her divorce, since her marriage was the very reason why she retired early.

Tsuna shrugged, "Might have something to do with me. She was worried I would have some sort of culture shock and would fall behind if I transferred, not to mention someone in organized crime could do a background check on her and find out that her ex-husband was a Mafiosi, and would ruin her credibility as a cop."

"Point," Ienari said.

"Now can I continue?" Tsuna asked.

"Yes please," Ienari said as he lied down on his stomach on the bed, while Tsuna leaned on the wall with a pillow in hand.

"So, after that, Mom demanded answers why Papa had to check up on her, so he told her that he needed to take care of matters regarding her previous marriage…"

…

"_In other words, you are here to tie up loose ends." Nana stated as they stopped by the playground that was dimly lit. It was near her house, so there was no pressure in getting home immediately. Nana still kept her gun in her bag, safety off, just in case this hitman tries anything. "But why now after three years?" _

_Reborn sighed, clearly irritated about something. "Three months ago, there has been a leak in the system. Someone squealed that Iemitsu was once married and divorced, and still has a kid under his ex-wife's custody." He informed. _

"_So they are after Tsuna." Nana said with a growl. She was no tempted to go back to being a cop and transferring to organized crime. _

"_They should have been waiting by your house, but I already took care of it." Reborn informed her. "But something bothers me," _

_Nana seemed to stiffen. "What's that?"_

"_I got rid of those lurkers at three in the afternoon, the time where your son, Sawada—"_

"_Sumeragi." Nana stressed. "We took the liberty to change his last name."_

"—_Sumeragi Tsunayoshi should have been walking back home." He continued. "But three hours passed, and there was no sign of your son anywhere near the house, or Namimori Elementary, for that matter."_

_Reborn expected Nana to be worried about her son. His first thought was that Tsuna might have been kidnapped before he got to school. But when Nana made a solemn look, he got another thing coming. _

"_I'd be worried if he did come home and went to school," she started. "Since Tsuna has been in a rehabilitation center for the past six months…" _

_If the hitman in front of her was surprised, he didn't show it. "What do you mean?"_

"_It means that my son's school life is nothing close to pleasant." _

…

Ienari simply stared at his brother who looked at anything but his younger brother. "Tsuna…you were…"

A small sad smile graced his lips. "Well, now you know,"

"But…why?"

"Bullying." He said simply. "It's something that cannot be removed in schools, no matter how strict it is. Physical bullying, psychological bullying, cyber bullying, the list goes on. I, on the other hand, got two of those sorts. Physical because of my uselessness and my moniker as Dame-Tsuna, and psychological because of the divorce." He stared at Ienari in the eyes, "You can tell what kind of taunts they used on a kid whose parents recently divorced to get a rise out of you, can you?"

As much as Ienari wanted to deny it, he couldn't not imagine what the bullies would say to a defenseless child whose parents just split up. He was already bullied enough before that, but after those events, psychological and physical bullying can destroy a kid's head. And the results are always not so pretty.

"You get a child with a lot of issues regarding himself…"

With a nod, Tsuna pushed back his right sleeve, allowing Ienari to see what was under it. There, on Tsuna's right wrist, were scars, traces of a blade penetrating into the skin enough to make it bleed. The scars were overlapping each other, almost reaching his elbow. But they were fading scars, which indicate that no more cuts were being added into the mix. "Back then I thought that if I did this, then I would at least get a break from all the pain and suffering that I had to go through on a daily basis. I wanted to escape. So one day, I just took a blade and watched as I made myself bleed. At least this miniscule amount of pain made me forget all the bullshit I had to face every single day…"

"You tried to hide it, but Mom found out eventually," Ienari guessed.

Tsuna nodded. "I think she's noticed that I've been beaten up like a sandbag on a daily basis since she's the one who always does the laundry. It's pretty obvious that she must have seen the blood and dirt on some of my clothes that indicates bullying…" he stated. "But Mom, ever the supporter, always took the time to clean them to take away any reminder that I was wearing it while I was beaten to a pulp. She was always there for me, but I didn't reach out to her for help, thinking that I can handle it on my own." He laughed mirthlessly. "In the end, I ended up _enduring_ it on my own. Until I was caught harming myself."

"So Mom sent you to a rehabilitation center to help you," the blond said.

"A lot of good it did me. I think I went through three psychiatrists trying to gauge me to speak about something else other than bullying being the reason for me doing self-harm." He scoffed, surprising Ienari. "As if bullying is a _minor_ reason. Please. A lot of kids committed suicide because of it all over the world, and they think it's a _minor_ thing. You know, I think child protection services talked them into implying that Mom did something that I wasn't telling."

An uncomfortable silence reigned between the two. The blond could feel annoyance. Their mother was a loving one despite her past misgivings. Ienari, taking the chance to change the subject, asked, "So…if you were in a rehabilitation center…how did you come across Reborn?"

Tsuna's smile returned, knowing what Ienari was up to, and because of that certain memory. "He came to the rehab center along with Mom three days later. The first time I met him, it terrified me."

"No surprises there." Ienari half-joked.

Tsuna threw him the pillow he was hugging before continuing his story.

…

_Tsuna felt like running away. This man in front of him at the visitation room was staring at him—observing him, would be the specific word for what he is doing right at this moment. But Tsuna was a big boy, he tried telling himself. He had to look at him in the eyes, as his mother always tells him. If he shows weakness towards the man, he felt like something bad would happen. _

_True, he was scarier than all the bullies that he had encountered once before, and he was rather weary of that. But this man in front of him…he was giving them a run for their money. _

_His mother didn't seem too worried about him, as she was the one who wanted to introduce the two of them two days ago since mentioning that she has met someone who worked at the same place his father did._

_There the man in a fedora sat, patting a green chameleon, looking so refined and…what was that word…ah, yes, dangerous._

_But something tells Tsuna that he was not going to harm him. No, it just seems like he's…measuring him about something. Bravery, maybe? Tolerance? Who knows?_

"_Mom, who is this?" Tsuna asked her, making sure that he was showing that he was scared at the mere presence of the man. _

_Nana sighed, "Tsu-kun, this is Reborn. The person I told you about the other day." _

"_You mean the one who got here because we were visited four times by that man?" _

"_Four times?" Reborn asked. _

"_Yeah. A visitor who always calls himself our 'Papa' when he comes. But I don't know him. I don't have a Papa." He said with a straight face. _

_For some reason, it amused the man. "You have a pretty good memory," _

"_I remember strange things," Tsuna replied with a soft voice. "Including some things regarding an old man who visited us once." _

"_I see…" Reborn muttered in acknowledgement. "How are you holding up here?" he asked._

"_The third psychiatrist gave up on me." He informed. "The one from Namimori Child Protection Services."_

_A frown marred Nana's features. She always hated those undercover people from that organization, thinking that all of the children's problems resulted from bad parenting. She has half the mind to tell them that she is aware of what they are saying, but is unnecessary to gauge a child to say something else other than him being bullied._

_She was about to say something when Reborn beat her to it. "Nana, can you get Tsuna out of the center immediately?"_

_The woman nodded. "I could pull some strings. It would take at least two days." She knew a friend in this field who runs a school for troubled kids. _

"_Then tell them to pull him out. He has a new counselor." _

_Tsuna tilted his head. "Who?" _

_With a satisfied smirk, Reborn replied. "Me."_

…

"That didn't sound so good." Ienari shivered as he remembered the first time he was introduced to Reborn three years ago.

"It really didn't." Tsuna agreed. "Mom pulled me out from the center immediately, and since it was in the middle of the school year, I had to re-enroll at Namimori Elementary. And for the rest of the year, I was subjected to Papa's teachings, but not to the extent of what you and Dino-san went through." He explained. "Since he was still tutoring Dino-san at that time, he could only come on the weekends."

"But why did you go back to that school? I thought they were infested with bullies?"

"Simple. Mom made an ultimatum to the school. If I get hurt for the rest of the year because of bullying, she would sue the entire school for neglecting their students. Add to that, Mom made it her job to pick me up every single day, and no staying inside the school after hours for good measure. That went on until graduation with Reborn coming over on the weekends to 'teach' me."

Ienari somehow felt a bit sorry for the younger Tsuna. "What did he make you do?"

"Half of what you have been through, minus the mafia."

"Ouch."

"Yeah. But there _was_ counseling on the side, so that's a plus." Tsuna assured him, but not so much.

"How…how did you end up in the school then, if Reborn was helping you?"

His question brought a bright smile on Tsuna, which made Ienari curious. "Kyouya's mother."

**TBC**

**And cliffhanger! I hadn't done that in a while. **

**And so the history of the family is now being revealed. Of course I'll do Tsuna first before Ienari. It can be considered fillers, but it holds a lot of significance in the story with how Ienari will view his big brother.**

**Remember, Tsuna tells parts of his life in order for those who needed counseling to open up to him to solve their problems.**

**I kind of re-adjusted Nana's age here. The wiki says that Nana was thirty-four when Tsuna was thirteen, which means that she had Tsuna at age twenty-one, and kind of twisted her history as an undercover waitress when she met Iemitsu. **

**Making her a cop stemmed from me watching too many homicide detective shows, particularly Unforgettable. I even managed to create a plot bunny from them. But I have no plans in getting it in full writing. It resulted in me having a character die. As in, **_**die**_**. **

**SO! I'm making this quick before I prepare to leave, and I just hope I get the next part done soon. **

By the way, an anonymous reviewer had brought my attention to something. I understand that most of you don't really like yaoi, but may I suggest just simply _not _reading it is far better than telling the author that you don't like the fact that there is yaoi in one's fanfic? Now, I'm not mad, Anon, not really, but I really had to put this in attention to my readers.

The readers—maybe even including you—voted for themselves if they would like to see any pairings here other than the R77 I put in, and they gave me their answer. If you're still not convinced, look at my reviews for confirmation. It's to make sure that I'm not making most of you uncomfortable with the pairings and to make the necessary adjustments and get rid of the implications of certain pairings should most of you not like it.

**So there, sorry for the rant, but I felt like I needed to voice out my thoughts here since I have no other ways to contact you. **

**Well then, I'll update as soon as I can, but I think I can still pitch in the next chapter right before I leave. No promises though. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"What? What's it got to do with the headmistress?" Ienari wondered out loud as he looked at Tsuna with disbelieving eyes.

Tsuna leaned on the wall, "Apparently she and Mom go way back. Mom was a training officer under her in her early days before she retired after her husband died in a shooting incident here in Namimori. To care for Kyouya, she retired and built a school for reforming delinquents and curing teenagers whose rehab times didn't help with their problems." He informed. "That was ten years ago."

"Ah." Was the only thing Ienari could say after hearing it.

"So, when March came, Mom told me to look for a school that I want to go to, regardless of the tuition, where there were anti-bullying policies in their school, and she would choose what was near her budget. But earlier after I was discharged from the rehab center, my first psychiatrist gave me an application to the institute. You see, to enter there in middle school, you have to be given the application by a psychiatric professional or a social worker if you are a delinquent. In my case, my former psychiatrist did it. Mom sent my application just in case the other schools I chose didn't come through."

"And it went smoothly, seeing as you're now a student of theirs," Ienari concluded.

Tsuna smiled, "Well, there was the thing about meeting Kyouya in an awkward situation…"

"This I want to hear," Ienari coaxed.

"No! That was embarrassing! And we're here to discuss Mom's love life, right?"

"So you're saying you _have_ one?"

"Nice try, but that's a story for another time." Tsuna dismissed, inwardly patting himself in the back for averting any questions regarding his own love life where Ienari cannot know until further notice. The last thing he wanted was questions about his sexuality being asked. "Now, back to Mom. After my acceptance letter came from the school, I threw a tantrum."

Ienari looked at Tsuna with disbelief, "What? _You_ threw a _tantrum_?"

"I didn't want to go there at first. I felt like she was going to send me to an isolated hospital disguised as a school." He explained. "Turns out it was a school maintained by the Hibari family, particularly the matriarch, which is the headmistress." He shrugged, "So, after my tantrum, Reborn put me to rights. And somehow, to my knowledge, they were _flirting_."

…

"_I have to hand it to you, Reborn-san, you know your way in Tsu-kun's head," Nana commented as she looked at the dejected Tsuna sulking in the living room by the kotatsu. _

_Reborn was there too, sipping espresso from the dining room table, unaware that Tsuna was listening in, despite him sulking. _

"_What can I say? Knowing you, I know your son as well. He takes after you after all." _

"_Meaning I can be talked out of throwing a tantrum?" Nana asked with a teasing lift of her brow. _

_Reborn smirked, "It means I know you enough to predict how your son thinks. You did raise him on your own. He has most of your qualities that interests me." _

"_Enlighten me on that subject," she coaxed as she sat across from him with her own cup of coffee. _

"_I'd like to keep it for myself, thank you," _

_Tsuna couldn't bear it. Their flattery exchange has been going on for weeks now. The flirting has _got _to stop! "Here I am, sulking, and my Mom and my tutor are flirting…" he muttered. "Woe is me…" Tsuna was aware of the look that Reborn was giving him, and Nana was too shocked to reprimand her son. _

_Her exchange of words with Reborn had never given anyone the signals before, but to be told by her only son that she was flirting was a bit troubling. _

_Reborn, on the other hand, was quite surprised that the boy's intuition was right on the mark. He would applaud him that, but the fact that he used it unconsciously to trace the flirting that has been happening between him and Nana so naturally, it was a bit irritating. _

"_You've become snarky, aren't you?" _

"_I'm going to do my homework," the boy said as he stood from his seat and made a beeline to his room, knowing what will happen if he stays there any longer. _

…

"And after that, I noticed them becoming even closer. The next thing I knew, they were dating." Tsuna concluded.

"That's it?" Ienari said, unsatisfied about Tsuna's story.

The brunette raised his brow, "Do you really want me to share to you what happened when I walked in on them once?"

"NO!" Ienari blanched. "But I thought you knew how Mom fell for Reborn!"

"I said I know _when_ Mom and Papa fell in love. Not _how_. Although I think it had something to do with me being too good in reading the atmosphere and destroying it with my 'childhood insensitivity' that they realized that they were actually attracted to each other."

"Huh?" Ienari tilted his head in wonder. But he guessed it must have been their hyper intuition, a bloodline ability that Reborn had told him so much about. The only reference he could pick up was Vongola Primo's.

"I may be a troubled kid, but I can read the atmosphere. I talked to Mom about it first, and then to Reborn—separately, of course—and then by the time I entered the institute, they were already an item." Tsuna sighed, "You could imagine the questions my classmates asks me on who was the tall Italian helping out at the restaurant on a weekly basis. It took me three months to realize that my tutor and my mom are dating. And I always had to flinch when I say to them: _Oh, that's my Mom's boyfriend._ And all that. When they got married though, I happily say:_ Oh that's my Papa!_"

"Must be hard for Mom, having women ogle at Reborn at the restaurant when he appears." Ienari stated.

"Actually, Mom would be worried if women aren't looking at Papa." Tsuna said. "As long as Papa only has eyes on her, the women can look at her with envy."

The brothers shared a laugh, knowing that it was true.

"Boys. It's time for bed." Reborn interrupted as he barged into Ienari's room again, now dressed in pajamas, his spiky black hair now revealed for everyone to see. Ienari blanched as he saw the familiar pink pajamas with white spots. He always did question his bad taste in nightclothes.

"Really?" the Tsuna asked as they looked at Ienari's wall clock and saw that it was almost midnight. Tsuna's story must have taken too long for them to notice it.

Reborn rolled his eyes, "Yes. Really. We still have an early day for tomorrow, and we have to cater to a party at the Makishima residence." He informed. "Now go to bed. Tsuna, to your room,"

"Yes," Tsuna said as he got off Ienari's bed. "We'll continue this some other time, Ienari." He assured.

"Sure. Goodnight." Ienari bid the two as his door closed.

As the footsteps disappeared, Ienari had the chance to think about what Tsuna had managed to tell him. Clearly Tsuna and their mother went through a lot before Reborn came in their lives, and as much as he hated to admit it, he came at the right time to save his older brother.

…

**Gesso Villa, Italy**

Byakuran was packing his stuff when one of the maids knocked on his bedroom door. Turning to the door, he called out, "Come in!"

The door opened revealing one of his personal maids, Thelma, "Pardon me, Young Master Byakuran, but someone is waiting for you at the foyer," she then looked at the suitcase of her master, "And please, Young Master, don't sneak in marshmallows in your suitcase. Border security will give you a bad time." She scolded lightly.

The white haired boy pouted. "But I want marshmallows on the plane!" he whined.

"No, Young Master. The last thing your father wants is for you to gain attention at the airport just because you have un-declared bags of marshmallows," she chided. "I'm sure you would ignore these bags once you see how the Japanese sell their own marshmallow merchandise." She tried to convince him.

If there was something that the head butler of the Gesso Famiglia, Vino Garducci, had taught all of them, it was to convince their young master to not do something outrageous.

"But still!" Byakuran protested.

And Thelma learned that if all else fails, call for Irie Shoichi—or at least, threaten him with the red head. "If you won't cease and desist, Young Master, I will have to call Signorino Shoichi,"

Byakuran gawked. Vino was doing everything he can to keep him in line. "Geh! Fine, I'll take them out. Sho-chan is already mad at me as it is…" he said, completely backing off. "So, who is the visitor in the foyer?"

Now comes the hard part. "It's the woman of the Simon Famiglia."

A frown marred the features of their young master. If there were people that can make him mad, some of them are members of the Simon Famiglia.

"Is she with someone else?"

Thelma shook her head. "No, Young Master. Although she came at our gates threatening to kill security if she doesn't see you," she informed.

With a raised brow, Byakuran turned to his bed where his suitcase was at. "Tell her I'll be there in a few minutes." He ordered.

Thelma bowed, "As you wish, Young Master," she said and left his room.

If there was another thing that Byakuran hated, it was people threatening to kill security, or any of the family staff. With a frown, he got out of his room, and headed to the foyer, not really telling his red headed companion of their unwanted visitor.

When he arrived at the foyer, he put on his poker face, which consisted of a foxy smile, and a look that would make a normal person run for the hills in fright. "So, it was you who threatened my gate security team." he started as he descended the stairs that connected the second room to the foyer. "Suzuki Adelheid. What, pray tell, do you have to say for yourself, threatening my security?" he asked, not wanting to waste any time with the woman in front of him.

Adelheid looked back at Byakuran with cold eyes. "I heard from the vine that you were on your way to Japan?" she inquired.

Byakuran reined in his annoyance. If he didn't, then he would order the lurking snipers to pull their triggers. "The only ones who has business on where I go to are my father, the house staff, and Shoichi. You have no right to inquire where I am going. Unless…" Byakuran smirked, "Unless you think that I would go and find Ienari, wherever he is?"

The woman's red eyes sharpened at the mention of Ienari. Byakuran smirked, "Hit a nerve, didn't I?"

"Never speak the name of that bastard in front of me!" Adelheid growled.

"And never order me to do anything in my own home." Byakuran returned. "I know how you managed to get my booking records, and the reason why you barged in here hours before my flight to Japan. You think that I would use that as an excuse to scour the entirety of Europe for the Vongola Decimo who is now being hidden."

Byakuran almost wanted to laugh a week ago when the other mafia families found out that the Decimo to-be was no longer attending their mafia academy. It had brought an influx of spies to know where Ienari would have been hidden. Many had even theorized that the Decimo had only locked himself up in the Vongola Castle, or its other residences in Italy to get away from everything.

But the only ones who knew the whereabouts of the young Decimo were the Vongola Nono, CEDEF Boss, his home tutor, and now, Byakuran and Irie, and they have no intention of sharing the knowledge to anyone.

"What are you planning by going to Japan?" She demanded.

"I'm not required to indulge you, am I? What is so wrong about going with my friend to Japan to see his parents?" Byakuran defended. "And besides, I told my guards that anyone associated with Simon is now banned from ever stepping on my property because of your stunt a month ago. Whatever concerns you want to say to me, you can do it on neutral ground, not in a place where you could be turned to Swiss cheese should you harm a hair on my head." He said with the foxy smile that every enemies he had hated, for it showed that he _always _has the upper hand in things. How, they would never live to tell.

With that, Adelheid turned to leave, rage emanating from her form as she exited the Gesso Villa.

Byakuran watched as Adelheid disappeared with the closing of the main doors. When she disappeared, his eyes turned serious. There was a mole in the villa, and he knew just who it is. As he turned to leave for his room, the light captured the orange gem of his ring with open wings.

Shoichi was waiting in his room, taking out the last of his marshmallow stash off the suitcase when he arrived back inside. "So, what did Suzuki want?" he asked.

Byakuran sat on the side of his bed, just beside his suitcase. "What all of them want. The location of the Vongola Decimo." He informed. "She 'heard' that we were going to Japan, and she suspected that I might just use that excuse to scour Europe to find out where the Vongola have 'hidden' their heir."

"And then they turn to us, the ones whom Sawada Iemitsu had told his son to avoid associating with if he knew what was good for him." Shoichi added. "Sometimes I don't know what goes through their heads."

"But Suzuki's guess is not that far from the truth." Byakuran replied. "It would be good if we get rid of the mole before we go anywhere. I don't want to risk exposing Nari-chan's location if I could help it."

"You don't have to worry about that," Shoichi assured. "I asked Vino-san to take care of it with his methods."

Very few could make Byakuran's spine shiver. And Vino were one of those people. He could still remember when he was kid, someone tried to kidnap him, and Vino had shown up with murderous intent and annihilated twenty armed people all by himself. He was basically a second father to him, just has his father was to Vino's predecessor. And he could be very protective of him when he needs to, and very cross if he does things that displeases him.

"Ah…then we can rest easy knowing Vino."

"And we can protect the location of the Vongola Decimo."

Byakuran nodded, "I can't wait to see Nari-chan's face when we get there!"

The red head smiled. "Yeah." He then held up a bag full of marshmallows, "Now, what did I say about smuggling food in the country by stuffing it in your suitcase?"

Shoichi's smile turned sinister, and Byakuran shivered in cold sweat at the face. "Uhm…"

**TBC**

**The good news is, my trip was cancelled, and I can stay at home writing. **

**The bad news is, my plot bunny took a vacation without me. **

**Maybe it's because of the super duper heat that has been frying me, my new dyed hair, and laptop. Ahaha…probably shouldn't have mentioned the hair, but it was the first time for me to dye it (with disastrous results)! **

**The heat has been killing me for a week now. Last I checked, it was 33 degrees Celsius. **

**So! Back to the story, well, Tsuna is not the best storyteller there is, but I intend to keep the sweet moments of R77 in their point of view when the time comes. **

**Suzuki Adelheid appears! The transferring of Ienari to Japan is a closely guarded secret of the inner circles of the Vongola, and Byakuran just found out because he's Byakuran. Almost everyone is wondering where Reborn hid him. **

**Next chapter will take a while, since I remembered I still have that HP fic in my Ao3 account to update…hehe, talk about forgetful, not to mention the Ghosts of the Past update is on next month. **

**June is nearing…**

**And I want to cry because while you guys in the west are enjoying your summer vacation, mine is ending! **

**Well, see you guys~!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Eat your cucumbers, Tsunayoshi. It's there for a reason."

"No way! I don't like these things! Papa must have put them here on purpose. You eat it!"

"I refuse. It's not mine to eat."

"Please?"

"No."

"You're such a meanie Kyouya!"

"I wouldn't be if you just do it,"

"But…"

"Don't use your puppy dog eyes on me, it won't work."

Yamamoto smiled at the scene before him and Gokudera, while the silver haired teen only glared at the other person they were watching. It always infuriated Gokudera that the pair would emit a lovey-dovey atmosphere rivaling Reborn and Nana's. More so when the other person was Hibari.

"Haha…I somehow feel like third wheel…" Yamamoto said outwardly.

"This is outrageous." Gokudera grunted as he ate his lunch. They were currently at the rooftop eating their lunches, all but Ienari who had been called by a teacher for him to catch up on the incoming midterms in a few weeks, which meant that he would be running late, and spared from the flirting of his brother and Hibari. "We came here to have a silent lunch and these two go on flirting with each other..." he grumbled.

"Come on now, they haven't had the chance to be like that ever since Ienari came back, so cut them a bit of a slack,"

"If I feed you the cucumbers, will you eat it?" they heard Hibari say.

"Really? You'd do that?"

"Anything to get you to eat it."

"Yay~! Aah~" Tsuna said with glee and opened his mouth.

"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" Hibari asked, but he ended up feeding Tsuna anyways.

Something in Gokudera snapped as he turned to the two, but his eyes were more directed at the head prefect. "Isn't flirting on school grounds forbidden?" Gokudera said out loud intentionally.

That got the attention of the two who were flirting. Tsuna looked sheepish and turning red, while Hibari looked like he was ready to commit murder with the victim being his own secretary. True they couldn't spend that much time together ever since Ienari arrived, but it wasn't like Tsuna didn't like it. Well, Hibari did, but that was different.

"Doing indecent acts in school is forbidden, not flirting. If it was, then all of us here would have been miserable and single. Like you." Hibari shot back at the silver haired teen.

"Damn you, you bastard!" Gokudera growled. "I am perfectly fine on my own!"

Yamamoto laughed, "So, have you told Ienari yet?" he asked, trying to change the subject a little bit so that the bomber doesn't get it in his head to blow up the rooftop _again_.

A flinch from Tsuna was enough of answer from Yamamoto to confirm that Ienari still has no idea of the relationship between Tsuna and Hibari. "You know, it's better if he finds it out from you than to others, right?" he advised. "He would be mad at you if that ever happens,"

Tsuna sighed and looked down, "Well…Papa said the same thing. But I can't just tell him outright! It's not the way it works…"

"For others maybe, but to Ienari, maybe assuming a simple thing might be the key to telling him," Yamamoto stated. "You get me so far?"

"I guess so." Tsuna stated.

All of a sudden, the door opened revealing a panicking blond teen.

"Ienari?" Tsuna called out.

Ienari turned to his brother, "Tsuna, if someone from outside wanted to get in the school through the gate, what happens?" he asked.

"The security will ask who they want to see, and the person will be called. Why?" Tsuna replied.

Ienari sighed, "I think…I might have a guest or two coming over either here, or at home…" he said with an exasperated look as he showed him the message he got on his phone.

_**Marshmallow Lunatic**_

_Nari-chan, what do you do to gain entry in a school full of delinquents and rehabs?_

Tsuna raised a brow at the name of the contact, and looked back at Inari. "Your friends?" Tsuna asked.

As expected, Ienari denied it. "No…more like…classmates who wouldn't leave me alone,"

"Imagine that." Hibari muttered while looking at Gokudera and Yamamoto. "Will they cause harm to the school?"

"Not really." He replied off-handedly. "At worst, they might just get on my nerves because of _that_ person's antics…"

Tsuna was skeptical, "Why not call them friends, Ienari? You guys sound close," he stated. He has heard from Reborn that Ienari had some trust issues, and would always keep people he didn't know at arm's length, especially his schoolmates.

Ienari shrugged. "Can't be too careful. I don't hand that title just to anyone in the mafia…"

Yamamoto stared at him, "You have some serious issues, man." He commented. "If I was in the mafia, I would have already known who I can trust by instincts alone." The blond flinched at his slip of the tongue. Noticing this, Yamamoto smiled brightly, "Relax. All of us here are aware. If your godmother married an Italian hitman, you had to know these things too,"

With a grunt, Ienari spoke, "I can't rely on my instincts alone. The last time that happened…"

Images of people suddenly plagued Ienari's mind, earning him a slight tinge of headache as he saw a rather familiar symbol on red eyes. Who owns those eyes, Ienari couldn't remember.

"_**Can you tell me that you will be there for me?"**_

"_**What kind of stupid question is that, Ienari?" **_

"_**Just answer."**_

"_**Fine. I will **_**always**_** be there for you. And I hope you can do the same for me." **_

"_**You drive a hard bargain, but alright."**_

"_**Is this the part where I hug you for all you're worth?"**_

"_**Don't push your luck."**_

"Ienari?" Tsuna's voice called out to him.

He snapped his head to look at Tsuna who was wearing a worried expression. That was when he noticed that his hand had unconsciously went to his head where the slight pain was a few moments ago. Shaking his head, he continued, "Well, that leaves to be something I don't want to remember. He texted me asking these things, and I bet he has every intention of trespassing the school," he informed.

A frown marred Hibari's features. "Trespassers need to be bitten to death." He growled, itching for his tonfas, but he remembered that Tsuna restricted him from carrying them during lunch to avoid any fights in-between the meal.

"I wholeheartedly agree, but if you do, you'd run the risk of being sent to the emergency room, and I'm serious." Ienari said, remembering the one time an ignorant fellow student challenged Byakuran in a fight and ended up bloody and traumatized. It was as if he knew what to do in that kind of situation, or he simply knew how the person fights.

But it didn't seem to faze the prefect. "Heh. I like a challenge."

"And I like my man in one piece! Don't do it Kyouya!" that was when Tsuna slapped his own mouth and stared at Ienari in horror.

Ienari wore a similar horrified face as he looked left and right from Tsuna to Hibari.

Then it all clicked. Hibari calling Reborn 'father,' his mother calling him in a nickname, being tied to the hip with Tsuna when he had the chance, and the fluffy atmosphere they emitted just moments before.

Tsuna was dating the head prefect of the Reformation Faction.

"You were…" Ienari trailed off. Before he could say something else about the matter, his phone rang. Answering it, knowing it was from Byakuran, he turned his back on the other occupants of the rooftop, missing the hurt look from Tsuna. "Where the hell are you exactly, Byakuran?"

"_Hehe~ here at the front gates~ the guards here are scary. They won't believe me when I told them I was here to see you, so they told me to call you to get you out of wherever you are during lunch!" _Byakuran sounded almost too proud of himself.

"Is Irie with you?"

"_Of course! I do need a guide. Get down here or I won't be responsible on what the guards will see…" _

Ienari rolled his eyes. "Try me."

"_How about PDA?"_

"Fine! I'm coming!" Ienari said almost instantly. The last thing he wanted was to scar the guards for life.

When the door closed behind Ienari, Gokudera and Yamamoto looked warily at Tsuna.

"Tsuna-san…are you okay?" Gokudera asked.

It took a moment to get a reaction from Tsuna. He immediately covered his face with his hands and moped. "Wah! I'm such an idiot! Spitting that out in front of Ienari! He's going to hate me now!" he said in a depressed voice.

Yamamoto sighed, "Hey, you don't know that. He just might be shocked, but he's not homophobic, is he?"

"I don't know!" Tsuna whined, clearly getting too carried away. "Maybe I'll just move out and live my life as a gigolo…"

"Don't get carried away that easily!" Gokudera and Yamamoto said in panic.

"Hibari, say something!" Yamamoto pleaded.

Hibari merely shrugged, clearly unimpressed with the flow of things, and the comment of his boyfriend of becoming a gigolo. "You are overthinking things. He didn't look at you in disgust, did he?" he asked Tsuna, who was now close to crying.

"No…but he was distracted with his former classmate coming at the gates…"

"You've spent three years battling from yourself regarding your self-harm and bullying trauma, and a single shocked look from your brother finding out about you dating me is bringing you down?" he lectured lightly, "You know better than to put words and thoughts in your brother before confronting him. I thought you learned that lesson when you confessed to me."

"Kyouya…" Tsuna remembered that day very clearly to his liking. He had thought too much about what he might think based on his personality, which disabled him from ever telling him of what he felt, and it fell badly through himself.

"Listen to me Tsunayoshi. I don't know what your herbivore brother is thinking about this revelation, but I want you to talk to him when you have the chance to clear things up. Am I clear?"

Tsuna nodded meekly.

Gokudera scoffed, "Why can't you just tell him that in a gentler way?"

Hibari glared at the ex-mafia, "I wasn't raised to be soft." He stated and stood up, "Now, we better get to the gates before something happens to the school, or so help me, Sawada Ienari and his visitor will be spending the rest of the week in the hospital." He said as he turned to leave the rooftop, followed by the three.

…

Ienari felt like being annoyed with his older brother. Not because he was dating Hibari (he still doesn't like him), but because he was keeping it a secret from him.

But he reminded himself that everyone is entitled to several secrets, even Tsuna. What hurts is that he didn't tell him of his relationship with the prefect even if it was already slapping him in the face. _'Well…it was my fault for being dense. I can read the affectionate atmosphere, but I thought it was just a thing between close friends…'_

Maybe that was why he lacked friends. He couldn't tell them apart that much, and it irked him. Or maybe it was just because his brother was worried that he would judge his relationship with another boy. Now that, he understands. But does he really think of him as judgmental?

'_After all, I did see Byakuran and Irie making out in the gym storage room one time…'_ he thought as he shuddered at the memory.

Sighing, he walked faster to the gates, since running will earn him a reprimand to those who sees him doing it and would get into small trouble.

When he arrived, there they were, Byakuran and Irie standing at the gates while being monitored by the guards. He shook his head. Byakuran knows when to show up at the wrong and inconvenient time most of the time.

"Byakuran," Ienari called out to him as he approached the school gates.

The white haired teen turned to see him. Purple eyes glinted happily as he waved his hand to greet the blond. "Nari-chan~!" he greeted.

The security looked back at Ienari, "Hey kid, you know this guy?"

He wanted to deny it, really, he did. But he was already called so familiarly by the teen that he had to nod. "Yes."

Afterwards, the security at the gates let Byakuran and Irie in, but they told Ienari that they could only stay at the front grounds of the school and not lurk around unless they were potential students. Ienari had to inwardly snort at that. The school would instantly spit the Gesso heir out of the school the moment he gets the chance to wreak havoc in it. And he has a feeling that a certain prefect would not like it.

"What in the world prompted the two of you to fly to Japan two weeks before your school year begins?" he demanded. "And coming here during school hours no less!"

Irie looked at Byakuran wearing the 'I told you so' face, "I told you he would be displeased. You didn't listen." He then looked at Ienari, "Sorry about this Ienari-kun. The moment he slept off the jet lag, he wanted to come to see you immediately," he excused.

"Won't surprise me if he falls asleep suddenly in the afternoon. Truthfully, I hope he falls asleep soon," Ienari stated. "You have no idea what you got yourself into, didn't you? What if another family detected your presence? Then I would be found out, and Reborn would have been in deep trouble, and my family too," he said with an annoyed look.

Byakuran raised his brow, "Did you really think I wouldn't know that? Of course I derailed any dogs that came to sniff! I inputted that we were bound for Hokkaido, and Sho-chan and I took a flight to Namimori under false names,"

Ienari knew that when Byakuran says it, he says the truth. He has a weird way in derailing any spies from detecting where he goes. It was something that Ienari admired about the teen, but his annoying personality pretty much destroys a good impression on him. The Gesso Famiglia has a very talented heir indeed.

With an exasperated sigh, Ienari ran his hands through his hair, "So, where are the two of you staying? And for how long?"

"The rest of the week. Sho-chan wanted to move his stuff to his new dorm assignment by next week, so we're pretty much on a tight schedule for sightseeing! Want to accompany us this Saturday?"

Ienari shook his head, "No thank you. I'm helping out at the restaurant on the weekend and the rest of the weekends of the year."

"Boo~ and we came all the way here to see you too…" Byakuran said with a pout.

"That's too bad. By the way, did you ask my tutor for permission in seeing me?" he asked, remembering the Ninth's rules. He must not communicate with people in the mafia without the approval of Reborn.

Byakuran smiled cheekily, "He gave you your phone, didn't he? Of course I did! I don't want to be gunned down by that scary hitman." He then changed subjects, "Well then, if you can't come with us, why don't you introduce me to your brother?"

"No." Ienari said. "The last thing I want you to do is to blurt out what his life would have been in a parallel world like what you did to me and Irie." He said as he eyed the ring on the Gesso heir's finger. The Mare Ring of the Sky which grants its owner the ability to share memories with his parallel selves. He could still remember when Byakuran shared him his secret and showed him his power, he told him that there were parallel worlds where he didn't exist, or when he was a little hellion to his younger and older siblings—also in a parallel world.

He was thankful every single day he didn't turn out to be a little devil himself.

"Perish the thought! I would never blurt out something like that to a civilian!"

"As if I would believe that." Both Irie and Ienari said in unison.

Byakuran puffed his cheeks, "Really you two! Why do you always go against me?!"

"Because you need someone to go against you and your crazy antics." Irie replied.

"Arguing loudly in school grounds is not allowed, Sawada Ienari."

Ienari froze and turned to see Hibari along with Tsuna, Yamamoto and Gokudera—but they were running towards the prefect getting ready to restrain him should he resort to violence.

Byakuran looked at the direction of the four and smiled. "Ah…sorry about that Mr. Prefect. Ienari is the one being unreasonable." He said pushing the blame on Ienari casually.

"Don't push the blame on me!" Ienari complained.

"But the prefect is scary…"

"As if you would be scared! You've never been scared of anything."

"Not true. I'm scared of Sho-chan and Vino getting mad."

Tsuna decided to break the bickering, "Are these the former classmates you told us about, Ienari?" Tsuna asked rather awkwardly, considering that he just found out that Tsuna was dating Hibari.

"Ah, yeah. This is Byakuran, and Irie Shoichi." Ienari introduced. He turned to Byakuran and Irie, "Well, you got lucky this time. This is my brother, Sumeragi Tsuna, the head prefect Hibari, Yamamoto and Gokudera."

Gokudera choked, "Byakuran? Not _the _Byakuran of the Gesso Famiglia, is it?"

"The very same one, Smoking Bomb~" Byakuran replied. "Long time no see! The last time I saw you was when we were still grade school kids in the meeting between our dads. Now I see this is where you've been," he mused.

"Tch. Didn't know you associated with the Vongola Decimo. How did you come across that?" he asked.

"Got out of private tutoring, and I was sent to the Academy as expected." He informed. "We've been classmates since we were in middle school,"

Tsuna smiled, "Ah, I see. It's nice of you to put up with my little brother," he said as he bowed.

"Me too!" Byakuran said as he bowed while scratching the back of his head.

"More like Ienari-kun had to put up with you, Byakuran-san," Irie said with a frown.

Byakuran straightened up and looked at Tsuna, "You look a little bit like Ienari, minus the hair, but you're cuter!" he complimented.

Tsuna could only smile, "Why thank you. But I must object with me being cute. Ienari is cuter than me," he corrected.

The other teen laughed, "I guess he is a bit cute when he turns red either from being embarrassed or mad as hell,"

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here! Seriously!" Ienari said exasperatedly. On his back, he could feel the killing intent that Hibari was restraining, while Yamamoto was trying to hold onto his shoulder, trying to calm him down. He could just see an imminent bloodbath here and now.

As if to save them all from seeing violence in the morning, the bell rang to indicate five minutes were left before classes resume again.

"Ah, It's time already?" Yamamoto commented.

"Afraid so," Tsuna said. "It was nice meeting you, Byakuran-san, Irie-san. But I'm afraid we have to get to class,"

"That's too bad," Byakuran sighed.

Tsuna brandished his natural smile, "If you want, you could come over to the restaurant this Saturday. I think Mom would love to meet the two of you," he stated. "I don't think Papa would allow you in the house…"

"Ah, it's fine Sumeragi-san! We'll be here until Sunday, so we could come over. We can meet up with Ienari that way after I show Byakuran-san around,"

"I'd like to serve the two of you on Saturday. I'll be looking forward to it then." Tsuna stated with anticipation.

"Thank you for having us then. Byakuran-san and I should be leaving now," he said as he pulled the said teen away, "See you soon!" Irie said as he pulled the teen from the group so they could go back to their own classroom.

Gokudera and Hibari went ahead to the Reform wing, while Tsuna, Yamamoto and Ienari headed to the Rehab wing.

It was then when Ienari remembered something, "Crap! I hadn't eaten yet!"

Yamamoto laughed and handed him a melon bread, "Here. I was saving this for practice, but you can have it while we return to class."

"Thanks!" Ienari said as he accepted the bread.

"They're interesting…your classmates, I mean," Tsuna commented.

"Yeah. Byakuran is a bit nuts, but Irie keeps him in line," Ienari said. Then he remembered the little issue he has with Tsuna, "Did I mention that they are going out?" he told them.

"Eh?" Tsuna flinched.

Ienari rolled his eyes, "You really need to give me a little more credit, you know." He said with a deadpanned voice. "The only complain I have is why him of all people?"

Trying to break the tension, Yamamoto laughed, "You know, Gokudera and I are still wondering that too,"

Tsuna pouted, "You two are mean. What do you have against Kyouya?"

"He's a prefect and he's scary?" Yamamoto and Ienari said at once.

"Well, that is true, but still! Kyouya is nicer than you think," he defended.

"If beating up your unwanted and forceful suitors is what you think of kind, then fine," Yamamoto stated.

Ienari smiled, "If you think I would blow a fuse in knowing you were dating another boy, then you have another thing coming, Tsuna. I'm not prejudiced in that topic."

That was when Tsuna felt their bond as brothers grow closer. All Tsuna could do was smile.

…

"So, what do you think of the Sawa—ah—Sumeragi Tsunayoshi of this world?" Irie asked.

They were currently at a nearby café after leaving the school grounds since Byakuran was demanding his daily overdose of sugar.

Byakuran ate a large scoop of his parfait before he answered, "A bit different from what I anticipated. But that is to be expected. Having divorced parents can really change you, not to mention being in a rehab school like that. It really shaped him differently." He looked at himself at the spoon, "But he is still the ever accepting and kind sky that I knew in the other worlds. I just hope that Nari-chan develops that personality of his by being around Tsunayoshi-kun. He really needs it."

Irie smiled. "Always looking after Tsunayoshi-kun after the fiasco about your other selves?"

"Hey, a Sky has to look after his fellow Sky, even though he is no longer the Sky of one of the Trinisette. He's meant as a Sky for another group of people."

Irie sighed, "You're not making any sense." He said.

"Not right now, but let's say…seven or eight years from now, you would understand," Byakuran said simply as he continued to eat his parfait.

**TBC**

**Well, this took a bit longer than expected. **

**I've been paying attention to the Eurovision Song Contest recently, so I got a bit sidetracked in writing. Seriously, I cheered for every country that are also Hetalia characters, and I couldn't resist imagining if they were the ones performing or watching the performances of their citizens! XD **

**I was so into it that I always watch the live stream of the song contest from the two semi-finals to the grand finals. Of course, since it's in Austria, I had to wake up at 3AM to watch it live here at my place. But it was all too worth it, even if I couldn't vote. Sad but true. I actually rooted for Belgium, Italy, Spain and Sweden, and they ended up in the top five! And Sweden won! Haha, the stoic country won again after his victory in 2012. **

**But I have to admit, the song that hooked me up is Il Volo's Grande Amore, the song that Italy submitted. **

**Speaking of which, I actually imagined Reborn singing Grande Amore with Colonello and Verde. I know, my mind is going nuts. Maybe I'll sneak in the song next chapter. Haha! **

**So! Byakuran now meets Tsuna, and Ienari discovers Tsuna's relationship with Hibari. **

**It's not that hard anymore to accept the fact that your brother is gay when you are friends with two people who are dating. Ienari was simply mad because Tsuna thought of him as someone who does not like the thought of two guys dating. **

**Well then, see you again next chapter~!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"Wrong step."

_THWACK!_

"Ow! Reborn! Stop with the whacking!" Ienari complained as he massaged his abused head after being hit by the Leon Paper Fan. They were currently in the living room studying and making Ienari catch up to the curriculum before midterms came around.

After returning from school with the lessons that the teacher had given him earlier that morning before Byakuran showed up, Reborn took it upon himself to tutor the both of them in academics so that nothing will be untouched.

"Until you learn how to use that formula, I won't stop." Reborn said sternly as he held two materials in his other hand. One for Tsuna, and the other for Ienari.

It had appeared that Ienari knew next to nothing about a fourth of the coverage of the midterms, and Reborn found it right to rectify it. And his methods are something that Ienari would suffer from. The intense tutoring that Ienari thought he had placed back on his past of horrors.

Well, it seemed like it had resurfaced because of his transferring.

"But this isn't supposed to be covered at the academy until this September! This is so unfair! How should I know about this when I was supposed to learn this in _September where my supposed first year of middle school should have started_?"

Reborn whacked him on the head again, "A mafia boss does not complain. And you were behind this semester. If your test is poor this midterm, it would reflect badly on me, and your physical training will resume and I will increase it tenfold."

"That's not fair!"

"Life is never fair, Ienari," Tsuna said smiling at the fact that Ienari was being picked on.

"You're one to talk…" Ienari said. Reborn must have let him off the hook more than once in his life ever since they met…

Just as he said it, Tsuna also received a thwack. "That equation does not add up Tsuna. Change the formula."

"Yes…" Tsuna said, and looked at Ienari with a face that says: 'see?'

Ienari often wondered which god or goddess he offended to have such a Spartan tutor-slash-step-father like this. His head will discard all the things he learned if he kept on hitting him with the Leon Paper Fan. _'Well, at least it's not the Leon Mallet…'_

"Oh? Do you want Leon as a mallet, Baka-Nari?" he asked. Ienari flinched. He forgot that this hitman can read him like an open book.

"NO!" Ienari said as he turned back to his work, trying to figure out which formula he did wrong to his math problem. _'Anything but that damned mallet!'_

He had enough of the nightmares that came about in his head at night regarding that giant mallet with beady eyes. There was no way he was going to see that kind of thing ever again! The torture that he has been through were enough to give him a trauma of a lifetime.

Thought it was true that it produced results, it was still something Ienari sometimes wished he had forgotten it instead of the reason he…

'_Stop right there.'_ Ienari thought to himself.

Recently, he has had some brief pangs of pain in his head, and it would always come with remembering things he was sure didn't happen. So where were these 'memories' coming from? He thought that his 'accomplice' Mukuro had something to do with this, but he knew that the Estraneo escapee turned Varia ward is too far to reach his head. Even he was silent. His contact details were still in his phone, but the illusionist has never called him even once right after his hospitalization.

It was as if he had been caught up on something. He better ask Byakuran when he comes over on Saturday.

"Tsu-kun, can you help me with the tarts for a while?" Nana asked from the kitchen.

Placing his mechanical pencil down, he stood from his seat and went to his mother's beck and call. Ienari was sometimes jealous of the fact that Tsuna could cook on par with their mother, whilst when he tried to cook, it either tasted too bland or has too much spice.

"He looks twice as happy today," Reborn commented off-handedly as he looked at Tsuna's retreating back.

Ienari's head snapped towards him, "What makes you say that?"

Reborn sighed and smirked, "He told you, didn't he?"

"Nope. More like he slipped," Ienari said as he leaned back. "I was panicking when Byakuran texted me that he was going to the school, and Tsuna freaked out when Hibari had declared that he would beat up Byakuran. He slipped afterwards." He stated.

A chuckle escaped Reborn's lips, "That sounds a lot like Tsuna, alright." He mused. "He's never one to reveal secrets properly,"

"My only complaint is: why Hibari?"

"Who knows? I'm still figuring that out myself," Reborn stated. "I don't even remember approving of the relationship, but your mother was thrilled, so that was that."

"Ah…" Ienari could only sigh. Reborn may be the one bringing in most of the income, but people would be hard pressed to learn just who wears the pants in their relationship, and it was definitely not Reborn.

"You're doing well these days," Reborn said after a few moments.

"Huh?" Ienari asked him to elaborate.

"You're not so sullen and stressed anymore. It's a good change in you," Reborn stated. "Maybe domesticating you was a good idea from the beginning,"

"Don't make me sound like a wild animal." Ienari grumbled.

"When you put it that way, you _weren't _one from the beginning until now," Reborn said, "Four years ago, you were so quiet and so distant, I prepared myself to teach a socially-awkward teenager,"

"How did it go?" Ienari asked as he looked at his tutor expectantly.

"I thought you were doing well. You were slowly interacting with people, and you were slowly finding your niche and maybe you almost started calling the Gesso heir and the mechanic as your friends, until…" Reborn didn't need to continue, knowing that Ienari had already caught up to what he was meaning to say.

Ienari looked away from his tutor in shame. True Ienari didn't remember the reason, but it was still a given that he had destroyed what Reborn had been nourishing in him besides his combat abilities. He had destroyed his expectations that he would completely grow out of his shell and face the world with confidence and to give his trust to those whom he feels he could trust. Instead, he had decided to cut his life short, and failed, but the scar will forever remind him of his actions for eternity.

Sensing his depression coming about, Reborn shrugged, "Well, at least when we went back to square one, you managed to flourish in a different way." he commented. "And this time, you have your mother and brother to help you out when you need it, maybe even your brother's friends. You have a lot to learn," he stated.

Somehow, Ienari felt encouraged to just simply live his life as a normal teenager while overcoming his own wallflower tendencies. It was clear. Ienari needed to start his life over as a normal teenager, not as a future mafia boss.

As soon as Reborn said that, Tsuna came back in with Nana carrying a tray of snacks. "Come on boys, it's time for a little break!" Nana said cheerfully.

"Saved!" Ienari said with glee. "I've been starving since I only ate the melon bread Yamamoto-san gave me earlier,"

"What about your bento? Didn't you eat it during your free time?" Tsuna asked.

"I did, but it wasn't enough," he admitted.

Tsuna laughed. "Are you getting back to your black hole of a stomach ways?" he asked as he and Nana set down the trays they were holding. Reborn did the initiative to take the papers loitering the table away.

"Well, it has been a long time since I ate one of Mom's bentos." He complimented.

Nana smiled brightly at his comment. "Haha! It's been a long time since I heard a comment of my food from you Nari! I'm delighted~!" Ienari smiled at his mother's show of happiness. "I'll be sure to cook for you with extras. Tsu-kun rarely finishes his food though, so maybe I'll give you a fourth of his share," she teased.

Tsuna huffed, "No fair!"

"Ara, Tsu-kun, you were always a light eater. I don't see why you have to complain,"

"But I finish it when I have time!" Tsuna defended.

As the talk went on between mothers and sons, Reborn watched his student slowly open up to his family.

He remembered the day he first met Ienari some three years ago, when he had just finished training Dino, and had now been asked a favor by the Vongola Nono to train his grandson as well.

…

_**Four Years Ago**_

_Reborn didn't know what had gotten into him the moment he accepted the offer of the Ninth to take in Sawada Ienari as his next student after Dino. What is it with mafia boss acquaintances asking him favors about tutoring their heirs to be proper bosses? After this, he will retire from taking on students!_

_Still, it had him troubled the moment Timoteo had asked that of him, considering that he was now engaged to the mother of his heir, and is now his somewhat future step-father. Dino had told him about Ienari multiple times before. _

_Since dating Nana, Reborn deemed it fit not to reveal himself to the Vongola Headquarters unless he was invited in by Timoteo himself, to take out any risks of a brawl with the CEDEF boss who was his fiancée's ex-husband, and the young Vongola heir who was supposed to be his younger step-son. _

_Just thinking about it somehow made Reborn a bit uneasy._

_Now he stood at Timoteo's office, now awaiting his new student to come from school. _

_From the information that Dino told him about Ienari, he was a bit reclusive, and refused to call anyone his 'friends,' just classmates or schoolmates or acquaintances. Dino fell in the latter, even though he reached out to him the moment they met three years back, right after Dino had solved the financial problems of the Cavallone Famiglia. If he gets it right, when Reborn was out on the weekends to 'counsel' Tsuna, Dino always went to the Vongola Castle to visit Ienari at every chance he gets. _

"_I'm sorry to have given you another tutoring task right after you had finished training the Cavallone Decimo, Reborn," Timoteo apologized to pass the time. _

"_Not at all. I consider it a part of my job. Though I may be a hitman, I did still enjoy teaching Dino, even if there were things that can't be rid off of him," he stated._

_The old man chuckled. "Dino was here a few days after you deemed him worthy of standing on his own. You really did an impression on the young man. He looks up to you like you were his father," _

_A somewhat small pride welled in Reborn. It was evident that he treated Dino like a father would, to train him properly, and to nurture him. Considering that Dino became an orphan at the age of sixteen after his father died, Reborn was the only anchor besides Romario to put him back together and to continue on with the training that started when he was fifteen. _

_The same pride welled in him when Tsuna started calling him 'Papa' after he was engaged with Nana. He could have called him 'Father' or 'Dad,' but that sparked resentment towards the one who should have held that title thirteen years back._

"_Well, I do my best to show promising results. Though this is quite a setback on my plans," Reborn stated. _

_Timoteo was puzzled. "How come?" _

_Reborn knew that there was no hiding to this old man, but since Tsuna and Ienari were somewhat involved, he figured he should let the one who considers them grandchildren know. "A week after deeming Dino independent, I proposed to my lover, and we were planning on getting married before the year is out," Reborn didn't need to tell him who the woman was, since he had told the man that he had fallen in love with an assignment to monitor the Sumeragi family last year. _

"_Ah, congratulations are in order then," the man simply smiled brightly that reminded him of Tsuna when he was extremely happy. "Though your choice of a wife will spark some conflict with your former lovers," he joked. _

_Reborn simply lowered his head to hide his eyes while he slightly smiled. "They would get over it." He assured him. "Besides, I couldn't see myself getting married to anyone but her," _

_Timoteo smiled. "I believe I am to keep this a secret from my External Advisor?" _

"_That would be appreciated. I wouldn't want you to bury your second External Advisor so soon," he half-joked. _

_Before Timoteo could reply with the same joking manner, the door rapped softly and opened, revealing a twelve year-old boy with blond hair and caramel eyes. _

"_Excuse me. Pardon my intrusion," The boy said. _

_Reborn almost did a double take at the resemblance the boy has to Tsuna. True he had seen some photos of an eight year-old Ienari, but that was years ago. The boy was now twelve, and puberty was kicking in. Besides his blond hair, he looked every bit as Tsuna, except for the fact that Ienari's face structure was sharper. Tsuna always had the slightly rounded face that he got from Nana. _

"_You wanted to see me, Ninth?" he asked. _

_Timoteo sighed and smiled again, "No need for formalities, young man. This man here is a friend of mine," _

_But it seems that the boy had remained to be formal to them, Reborn took note. "Then, may I ask why you called?" he said still with manners, but Reborn could see that the boy simply wanted to be left alone. _

'A reclusive kid…'_ Reborn observed. He must have kept to himself a lot. And that meant that he stress he was accumulating was doing something bad with his mentality. _

_Reborn stood in front of Ienari and observed him from top to bottom. Ienari's eyes shifted uncomfortably, before looking at him straight in the eyes. He was amused at the change of emotions in the boy, one looking perplexed, and the next, he was putting on a front. "Interesting, kid. You can interact with the adults properly with manners, and with finesse, but when it comes to your peers, you tear yourself from them and keep most to yourself." He observed. _

_He smirked triumphantly when his eyes widened in surprise for being caught. "Who are you…?" he murmured. _

"_Really? After Dino had told you all about me, you have no idea who I am?" he stated. _

_Moments later, Ienari's already pale complexion seem to go lighter as he realized who he was. "You…you're Reborn, the Sun Arcobaleno…" _

_Reborn smirked. "Nice head you have there. I won't have to take it off then," _

"_Excuse me?" Ienari asked, rather insulted. It was right to, Reborn thought. When he saw his academic grades, it was one of the best, unlike Dino when he started out. He won't be doing the TNT Tutoring then. _

_Reborn ignored his outburst, and the Ninth simply watched as Reborn assessed his new student. "Your combat skills are not that good. I wonder what your father has been teaching you, or have you not been to Lal?" he wondered, mentioning his fellow Arcobaleno. _

"…_Dad is the only one who trains me…there are the occasional spars with Ganauche and Brow, but even those are scarce because of their missions…" he said, mentioning the Ninth's guardians. _

_Displeased about the news, Reborn frowned. Iemitsu was not around much as it is. No wonder the kid's combat skills stayed average. "Well we won't have that anymore." He said and turned to Timoteo. "Ninth, I accept this tutoring job until I deem him fit like the Bucking Horse." He declared. _

"_Eh? Tutor? You?" Ienari said with a shocked face. He looked at the Ninth, hoping, maybe, that he was telling a joke. _

_But the old man simply nodded. "Yes. Since he did well with Dino, I thought that it would also do you good than have Iemitsu train you with how packed his schedule is. I wouldn't want you to go into the world unprepared and under trained," _

"_But isn't he my mother's boyfriend?" Ienari asked with a hostile look. _

"_Ah. So Dino _did_ tell you about my private life." Reborn said. _

"_No. Mom told me herself in her letter last year." Ienari said straight away. "Dino-san confirmed it later when he came to visit me that following weekend when you went to Japan." _

"_Smart kid." The hitman complimented. He knew that Ienari's mail was being screened. To nick a letter from Nana, the kid was good in taking what was supposed to end up in the incinerator._

"_If I'm smart, then why do I need a tutor?" Ienari asked, clearly uncomfortable of having his mother's boyfriend tutor him. Reborn understands his feelings, but it can't be helped. _

"_Tell me, how many friends do you have?" Reborn asked. When Ienari was silent and looked away, the hitman knew he hit a bull's eye. "And how many times has your father, and two of the Ninth's youngest guardians complimented you on your combat skills?"_

_But Ienari knitted his eyebrows and spoke, "I don't need friends who backstabs. I've seen that happen to my surroundings many times before, and all we could ever have are connections and favors. As for my combat skills, I know I lack it and is still in the average side, but I work myself off just to try to land a hit on the people you spoke of." He stated with conviction. _

_Reborn turned to Timoteo with a disappointed look. "This won't do. At this rate, he won't get his six guardians and he would overexert himself without proper guidance." He stated. "We'll start on Monday. I'll give him the rest of the week to prepare himself for the worst." _

"_What? I already said I don't need your help!" Ienari said. _

_Reborn smirked, "Too bad for you, I'm just like Nanny McPhee." He started, "If you need me, but don't want me, then I'll have to stay. But if you want me, but don't need me anymore, then I'd have to go." _

"_I don't need you." Ienari pressed on._

"_Then I will have to stay." Reborn said with a triumphant smirk. "Prepare the rest of your life for hell, Baka-Nari. You will need it for me to make a boss out of you."_

…

And true enough, Ienari did need his life to survive his rigorous training regime, and he flourished greatly. Though it took him too much work to get him to socialize with other mafia kids, even if it did end up with him associating with the owner of the Mare Ring and one of the budding mechanics of the mafia world. The Arcobaleno Boss, Luce, had said the moment he met Ienari that he was going to be a lot of work, and a lot of work he was.

He just didn't know to what degree until he was found in the bathroom and rushed to the hospital for attempted suicide.

It felt like he was a failure of a tutor, for letting his student get in danger because of Ienari himself and his insecurities, doubts, and pressure.

"_When the time comes for you to find the mistake, start from square one."_ Luce said to him a week after Ienari's hospitalization.

As he watched Ienari converse with his mother and brother as they ate some snacks, Reborn knew that square one of four years ago was one of his mistakes. For letting him stay in the mafia world where a lot of betrayal and lies laid ahead. Now, he changed his tactics. The square one he did to Ienari two weeks ago was the right step. To remove him from the mafia world temporarily and give him a taste of being a normal teenager, and to teach himself to give his trust to those his Hyper Intuition thinks is worthy—not to walk past him, or to walk behind him, but to walk beside him through thick and thin.

And judging from the smile and relaxed face of his student, his road to recovery and learning was going faster than Reborn had expected.

…

**Somewhere in Italy**

"I don't understand, where the hell is he?!" a very irate red headed teenager demanded the teenage girl in front of him.

"We told you, didn't we? He's dead! The cover of him being 'hidden' is just that! A cover! They are already training his older brother to be the next Vongola Decimo."

"No! I refuse to believe that!"

"Explain his letter of goodbye then," the girl challenged. "And the fact that the Sun Arcobaleno went to Japan _for an indefinite time_."

The red head growled and threw the letter away, "I won't believe it until I see his gravestone personally! That's how much I don't believe this piece of crap!"

"Then be that way. You are exhausting our few resources as it is. And Julie already told you, he died committing suicide!"

"After all this, I don't trust all of you!"

The girl was startled at his statement. "You don't mean that…"

"YES I DO!"

The girl almost wanted to run to the hills with how loud the red head in front of him had shouted. "You would rather delude yourself of him being alive than to believe our words?! I thought we were family!"

"You _are_ my family, but I cannot _trust_ you people after what I learned! Get out."

"Excuse me?"

"I SAID GET OUT!"

Without further ado, the girl simply left with a parting word, "Then be that way. Thinking that he is still alive will just hurt you even more." She said as she slammed the door shut.

The red head was left with his thoughts as he sat on his office chair, looking at the file in front of him. There was a picture of Byakuran, the Gesso heir, boarding a plane with Shoichi Irie, both of them wearing black, and seem to be in mourning. Byakuran might think that he was smart, but Julie can get the resources he needs to find out why they were going to Japan.

And beside him was a recorded audio of the immigration in Narita Airport.

Clicking the play button, the words that the people said in it haunted him.

"**What is the purpose of your stay here in Japan, Mr. Grigori?" **a woman's voice asked.

"**To attend a friend's funeral." **the familiar voice of Byakuran said, though his voice was solemn. **"His wake is this week, so we went as soon as we could."**

"**Oh. I am sorry for your loss then."**

After that, he couldn't hear more of it, as he pressed the stop button, tears coming out from his equally red eyes. He glanced at the letter beside it, encased in an envelope that had a spot of blood on it that confirmed a person's DNA on it.

It was a letter addressed to him. He scanned the letter again, but his eyes always trailed to the last three sentences at the end of the letter.

_**I'm sorry. But I can't go on living like this. I'd rather die than see you suffer because of me. **_

_**Goodbye, and remember, I love you.**_

"No…I don't believe it…you can't be dead…" he murmured. "I refuse to believe you're dead…Ienari…"

**TBC**

**Now we see a bit of Reborn insight and a flashback in his point of view. **

**In this AU, the Arcobaleno, the Strongest Seven, are mere titles without the turning into babies curse, but they are still the guardians of the seven—no—eight pacifiers. They just have a different type of curse (which will be explained later on). And yes, I made Luce live. She is just an interesting character that I can't help not to follow Akira-sensei's canon that she's dead. **

**June is coming up, and my internet time is once again…cut by my dad. I know I'm already twenty, but I'm still young in the eyes of my parents, and is still in college, so the internet restriction is still in. I can't use the internet during the weekdays unless I do research, but I do my researches in school. So weekend-only restrictions needed to be in place not just to me, but to my siblings as well. **

**So my last update for this month is this chapter. I'm due to start my semester by the second week of June, so I have to prepare myself for my new classes and fixing my school-related problems. Sorry about that guys. It might even turn out that my updates will only be once a month, and I have no idea which of my three ongoing fanfics should I update first. Yes, three, since the third one is in my AO3 account on the Harry Potter fandom. **

**But school comes first before fanfic. **

**Well, until then, see you soon!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**Varia Headquarters, Italy**

"Anything from the old man?" Xanxus said to Viper, the Varia's main illusionist.

The hooded woman nodded. "The Ninth merely said that Ienari is in a very secure place, and that the rumor that Iemitsu had spread out is easily being ignored by the other families, opting to believe that he is merely hiding somewhere in Europe, going as far to the States. All except…" she trailed off.

"All except the Simon Famiglia." the twenty-one year-old blond man said with a wide grin. "Since the rumor got out, they have been investigating a lot about the tracks of the Decimo from his hospitalization, to him being checked out, and so on. They finally bought it when the Gesso heir had come to Japan for a funeral."

Xanxus hummed deeply as he assessed the information that his illusionist and her partner had given him. On his desk was a formal order from his adopted father, the Ninth, about the whereabouts of Ienari and the truth behind the rumors that the CEDEF boss had spread out without the consent of the Ninth.

From now on, should the others buy it, they would target the son of the Sun Arcobaleno. A task that no one would dare do unless they have a death wish. They just figured that Reborn had been dismissed of his duties for a while and had taken a vacation to Japan for an indefinite amount of time. Some would even conclude that he had gone there in order to protect the other potential heir to the title.

"On your gathering of information, is anyone aware of what you had done?" Xanxus wondered.

Viper shook her head, "Apart from the other Arcobaleno, the only ones aware are you, me and Belphegor in this room. My ward isn't even aware. But he also believes that outrageous rumor of Iemitsu's."

"Tch..." Xanxus growled "The last thing we need is for your ward to get an idea to head to Japan and kill the Arcobaleno's eldest step-son." He stated. "But it can't be helped. If he does end up doing that, he'll find out the rumor was bull on his own the _hard way_."

"Shishishi~ the pineapple will have to deal with it. Even I don't want to see that Sun Arcobaleno get mad and turn him to Swiss cheese," Belphegor stated. "He's the future Mist guardian after all, so finding his boss will be his priority to confirm the rumor,"

With a sigh, Xanxus leaned on his chair. "That's what I'm afraid of…" he said as he glanced at the photo on his desk, where a younger version of himself, twenty in fact, together with a blond kid somewhere between eight and nine, sleeping side by side at the Vongola Garden's net hammock at the central solarium, flopped against a sea of pillows. Written below the photo was a scribble of a child: _Me and my Xanxus-nii! Taken by Grandfather!_

"You are dismissed." He ordered. No sooner than that, both Viper and Belphegor left him with his thoughts. His eyes went back to the photo. He remembered that day very well. When he shared something that Xanxus keeps to himself. Even back then, the kid was still unaware of the weight on his shoulders, but it would eventually press him to push his limits with disappointing results—at least in the eyes of the one he wanted to please the most.

…

_**Seven Years Ago**_

"_What's the matter little brat?" Xanxus asked a lone blond boy staring at the garden roses. _

"_Xaunxus-nii…" Nine year-old Sawada Ienari turned to see the adopted son of the Vongola Nono look at him. "Just…nothing…" he said. "I asked Dad if I could call Mom in Japan…and he gave me a scary look…" _

_Xanxus was quite taken aback by the total honesty of the boy. The first time he met him, he was a bit quiet, and too distrusting. Reminds him of someone he used to know. But as the months pass, he was slowly becoming quite reclusive. He thought it was just home sickness, but as he gets himself gloomier and gloomier, all he interacts with are his father, the Ninth and the Ninth's guardians. But there were rare chances when Xanxus comes to the Vongola Castle to do his weekly courtesy call (Xanxus thinks that it was just an excuse of his father to see him from time to time, since he knew that he would just hole himself up at the Varia HQ. After all, he is the only son of his that is still breathing), he would also exchange some words with him. _

"_That's not an uncommon thing you know." Xanxus said. "The man was just divorced last year. Of course he would do that. But to think he would take it out on your desire to speak to your mother. You're a lucky one." He said as the bitterness of being abandoned by his own mother resurfaced. _

_Ienari looked back at Xanxus, "Do you think…it's my fault that he's like that?" he asked. _

_Instead of reassuring Ienari like an adult, he merely shrugged and joined him on the bench. "Nah. That's just him being bitter that you are not hating her as he hates her. Try not to dwell on it too much." He said off-handedly. _

"_But I don't…want to make my Dad any madder than he is…so should I pretend to hate Mom?" he wondered. _

_With a sigh, Xanxus sat up, "Come with me for a moment." He said as he walked on, not waiting for Ienari to catch up. _

_He led Ienari to the garden maze, a place where he had memorized over the years since coming to the Vongola Castle to avoid any annoyances, particularly his second-in-command best friend. As he turned to a corner, he made sure that Ienari was aware where he was turning so that he could not get lost in the large maze. A lot of times, he had also spent the night in the maze for being lost, but it was a good thing that no one questions where he has been, considering that he too, distanced himself from the Vongola staff. _

"_Where are we going?" Ienari wondered. _

_Xanxus walked on, not really bothering to face Ienari, "To a place where I always like to go to when I have a lot of things in my head that needed to be forgotten, even just for a while." He stated._

"_Can we get back before dinner?" he wondered. _

"_If you don't lose sight of me, then we will." _

_It took them half an hour to arrive at the very center of the maze. There was a large mirror dome solarium. Insid the solarium was a simple receiving room, with a net hammock on several places of the solarium. Looking up, Ienari could tell that the dome could be opened up during sunny days, and could be closed shut during rainy days and winter. _

"_Wow…I've never seen this before…" he said. _

"_That's because the only ones who knows this place is me, Father, the staff that caters to me, and now, you." Xanxus shared. He approached the double door of the solarium and opened it using a code. It opened widely upon confirmation and Ienari had to say that it was just like the living room of the Vongola Castle, except for the fact that the furniture were for outdoors, only softened by several cushions both large and small. _

"_I see…" Ienari said. "But…how does the staff know that someone is there, and how do they get here?" _

_Xanxus scratched his head, "Found a secret hatch just on that path, over there," he pointed on his right, "They know that someone's in the solarium because of entry detectors that are transmitted to the staff room, preferably the kitchen staff room to let them know that someone is here and might need some food if they stay there longer than three hours." _

"_Oh…" Ienari went to the center of the room to see that the dome did not obscure its view of the sky, which was fine with him since he liked looking at the sky, especially during the night. _

"_If you want to be alone, you can hide here anytime you want." Xanxus said, "Considering you don't get lost in the maze. Choose a spot you like." He moved his head to the place to indicate for Ienari to choose his own spot. _

_From the corner of his eyes, the hammock took his attention, and without another thought, Ienari went to the hammock just north of the entrance and sat there at the flurry of the cushions on it. _

_Xanxus smirked at the boy, "Good choice. I always use that to take naps." _

"_Do you…use this place to get away from Squalo-san?" the boy asked._

"_More or less." Xanxus shrugged. "Scooch over," Ienari did as he was told and gave way to Xanxus. The older man laid down on the hammock and looked at the sky. "Squalo is always so noisy. It gets worse when the Bucking Horse visits," _

"…_Bucking Horse? Is that a breed of horse or something?" _

_At his statement, Xanxus almost wanted to laugh out loud, but he settled for a smirk. "He's a man. Two years younger than me, but a year for Squalo. He's the boss of the Cavallone Famiglia." _

"_Ah, the one who is being taught by the Sun Arcobaleno?" _

"_You haven't met him yet?" Xanxus turned his head to look at Ienari who also laid down on the hammock to look at the clear sky. _

"_Not yet…I…I don't want to meet anyone outside the Vongola just yet…and…I…um…" _

"_You know, not daring to finish your sentence is rude in front of the more formal Mafiosi. You should fix that." He advised. "Stuttering like that and you will be undermined by the adults, especially the old man's associates."_

_In all honesty, Xanxus didn't really know what has gotten into him, giving the kid some advice. But since relinquishing his claim to the Vongola title after Federico's death as to keep the bumbling old fools out of his hair of accusing him of killing his three brothers, it seemed that he should at least rectify himself and start helping out the only heir available—if the older brother grows up and dies oblivious to his parentage. _

_He didn't want to admit it, but it made him feel like becoming a big brother like Enrico had done to him once. That is, before all of them went against each other for the title. He really was glad that he chose not to go into the fight—knowing who he really was—and just laid low as the boss of the Varia. _

"_Really?" Ienari said. "But why?" _

_It was then when Xanxus remembered that he wasn't supposed to learn this until he was ten. But it wouldn't hurt to have a head start. "Listen. A lot of things will happen to you for the rest of your life. It won't hurt for you to prepare. You'll get killed if you so much as show weakness, and don't trust people of our world so easily. But rely on your instincts. That's the only thing that would keep you from being swallowed up." _

"_I understand…" Ienari said. _

_Silence flew by as the two looked up at the sky. Now being covered by the thick white clouds. _

"_About your family disaster," Xanxus started. "Know that both parties are at fault, so never ever assume that you are the cause of it." _

"_But…why?" Ienari asked, still looking at the sky._

"_Your father is sixty percent at fault for not being there most of the time, and just settled himself as a guest in the house. And your mother simply chose to be ignorant of his long-term absences but was still in the middle of the puppy love stage, until last year when she gained a backbone." He stated. "Kids are not at fault, even if they think otherwise. Take it from someone who has a more complicated family life." _

"_But you turned out fine…"_

_The older one scoffed. "Please. I've been in scuffles since the day I knew how to curse. I was only set right because of that Visconti." He said with a frown, remembering the string of losses he has against the Ninth Cloud Guardian. There were even rumors that Coyote's artificial arm was caused by him. But that's just rumor. His father would not let any conflict inside the family and his guardians end up with broken bones or torn limbs, on this case._

"_So I just avoid the subject about Mom in his presence?"_

"_If that's what you think is fine, then do it. You alone can reassure your nerves." He stated. "A conflicted Sky is not a good Sky." _

_Xanxus understands that he has to become the welcoming sky. But he finds it hard to just open up to almost anyone. Maybe that was the reason that is flames had become the Flame of Wrath. There was so much control that is needed to wield such a flame, let alone possess it. It had seemed that he had acquired the type of storm and sky flame hybrid because of his resentment towards finding out his identity, and the lengths that his mother had done in order to give him to the Vongola Ninth because of her delusions. _

_Sometimes he really hates his life. But it was all he has. _

_During his musings, he had taken his eyes off the boy, and before he knew it, Ienari was sleeping, muttering something close to 'Tuna' and 'knee' or something. But he didn't pay any mind as sleep also took over him, not noticing an amused figure that was just outside the solarium. _

…

"_Old man, you have some explaining to do!" Xanxus stormed into his father's office bringing along the photo that was taken of him and Ienari snoozing at the hammock. _

_He didn't care if he shook some stacks of paperwork that Coyote was now holding back while glaring at him, or the splotch of ink that dropped onto a somewhat important document his father was about to sign. He was furious. _

_But the man in question was merely smiling fondly, "Ah, you've seen it." He said with a smile that annoyed the hell out of him. "You two were so adorable sleeping together at the maze solarium, I couldn't resist. So I snapped a picture and gave it to Ienari-kun," he said cheerfully. _

_Xanxus was getting angrier by the second. He wouldn't be surprised if his Flames of Wrath was now appearing in one of his hands. But there was a certain tint of embarrassment that might have held the flames in. "Damn it when will you stop with the stalking and taking candid pictures for your own amusement?!" he growled. Childhood memories of him and his older brothers being embarrassed by the Ninth because of his penchant for taking embarrassing pictures flooded back into his mind as he looked at his father. Many would call it a doting parent, but the kids will call it an annoying parent. It probably kicked in during his mid-life crisis. _

"_What else could I do in my spare time? And I didn't know you would be at the garden solarium with Ienari-kun. I tried to leave when I saw you, but I just couldn't resist seeing your sleeping faces." _

"_You have some serious mid-life crisis old man!" he growled as he left the office with a storm of paperwork. He could hear Coyote shouting profanities at him from the office, but he didn't care. _

_A few hours later, he found that he couldn't burn the photo anyway. So he gave a proper copy to Ienari back and kept the original for himself with Ienari's handwriting._

…

Xanxus gazed at the window of his office to the morning sky. He knew that Ienari was safe wherever he is in Japan. It was better than staying in Italy.

When he learned what happened to Ienari a month before, he had to be restrained by his entire team just to assure him that he was out of harm's way. But that didn't stop him from going to the hospital when he woke up. Seriously, the kid gave him a heart attack!

He wanted to kill the bastard that cornered him in doing it as much as his tutor does, along with the others. The only problem was, even Ienari doesn't remember why he did it. The greatest mystery. A mystery that he would do anything to solve.

Even if it means enlisting the help of _that person_. Since he was already in Japan, it was convenient that he could investigate on the matter better than he and his team could. And no one would ever suspect it.

He only hopes that the brat he considers his brother would have his memories back so that he could maim the one responsible.

…

**Public Baseball Court, Namimori, Japan**

If you want to see Yamamoto Takeshi playing baseball during practice or at a public baseball court teaching elementary kids, here's an advice: duck.

Ienari learned that the hard way when Yamamoto was the one with the while teaching some elementary school students baseball at a public court alongside Tsuna, Gokudera, and the Nami-High girls plus Ryohei. But this time, there was a girl that was with them that was not Miura Haru and seem to go to Nami-High as well. Ienari had to go _somewhere_ that would not remind him of the white haired teenager who had barged into the school the day before. It was a good thing that Irie was showing him around on the others side of the town, away from their current location.

"Tsuna-kun!" Kyoko's voice called out to them on the bleachers.

Ienari, Tsuna and Gokudera turned to see them and he spotted a girl with purple hair and eyes, looking a bit shy.

"Who's your other companion, Sasagawa-san?" Ienari asked.

Kyoko pouted at the blond. "Just call me Kyoko. It sounds like you're calling onii-chan," she then turned to the girl and pulled her to face Ienari, "Ienari-kun, let me introduce you to one of my childhood friends, Nakamura Nagi!"

The girl, Nagi, laughed and scratched the back of her head, a bit embarrassed, "Nice to meet you, Sawada-san," she said with a soft voice, "Kyoko has mentioned you since she met you," she said with a wink.

Ienari blushed at this. He was never complimented by a lot of girls, and this was a first, but a bit too much.

Nagi observed him and she snickered, "Heh~ you're cute. Just like a yellow rabbit—if there is one, or a Pichu,"

"Excuse me?"

"Ah, sorry, lost in thought." Nagi said. "I also work at Nana-san's restaurant, but last week I was roped in with some trouble. We will be able to work with each other the next weekend after I finish moving,"

Tsuna sighed, "I told you that they would kick you out in your last apartment when you fought with them." he stated.

"It's fine. Showing my backbone is the best thing I have done in my life. I saved enough with working to afford a cheap apartment to move in,"

"You seem so energetic in saying something that could be depressing…" Ienari commented.

"Hehe, that's what happens when you grow up with Kyoko and Ryo-nii." She said with a wide grin.

Hana glanced at Yamamoto who was trying to teach the elementary students how to bat, "Huh. Looks like 'Takeshi-niichan' is doing well with teaching the brats," she mused.

"Yeah," Tsuna said, "He's really good with kids, unlike Gokudera,"

Gokudera grunted, "Never really got along with kids. I babysat once, and I never did it again."

"I agree. I can't stand kids below ten," Hana agreed.

"And here's the I Hate Kids Club," Tsuna said as he rolled his eyes. "Seriously guys, there has got to be a time when you would want one of your own."

Hana looked at him sharply, "Of course I want one of my own. But they would be disciplined and mature as they grow up."

"Sounds like a militaristic upbringing…" Ienari commented.

"It _is_ militaristic upbringing." Hana confirmed.

Just as soon as Hana said it, a panicked voice from Yamamoto was heard. "GUYS! DUCK!"

All obeyed, except for Ienari.

"What?" Ienari said as he turned to where Yamamoto is.

Bad idea.

In a split second, a white blur went towards him, hitting him on the bridge of his nose. He yelped in pain, but kept his ground. Only, he squatted down, trying to alleviate the pain the bridge of his nose.

"Ienari!" Tsuna shouted in worry and shock.

From the court, Yamamoto turned blue in fear. "Shit!" he said as he speeded towards their direction. "Ienari! I'm so sorry!"

Ienari turned to face Yamamoto, "It's fine. Reborn's hit me with worse things…" he tried to reassure them, but there was a flaw in his plan.

_Drip. Drip._

"Ah! There's blood coming out of your nose!" Tsuna said as he took out a handkerchief, "Really, if Yamamoto says duck, you duck,"

At his words, Ienari started to remember something again. It was vague, but he could tell that he was in an open space, a garden, or a school grounds even.

"_**Please duck."**_

"_**What was that?"**_

_**BOOM**_

"_**Vongola!"**_

"_**Ienari!"**_

_**CLANG**_

"_**Ack!"**_

"_**Ah. Sorry Vongola. That was too much power, but I did warn you."**_

"_**Really, Ienari, when Spanner says duck, you duck." **_

"_**Showwy! I chan't pfhay ashenshon shoo anyshing when you're chishtrakting mhe wich your shair…" (Sorry! I can't pay attention to anything when you're distracting me with your hair…)**_

"_**Am I really that much of a nuisance?" **_

"_**No! Ich not chat! Ow…my cheech…" (No! It's not that! Ow…my teeth…)**_

"_**Your mouth is bleeding. We better get you to the infirmary. Spanner, don't fire the next one until I get back."**_

"_**Got it Simon."**_

Reality soon hit him as he looked at Tsuna who was wiping off the blood on his nose and laying him down on one of the bleachers to prevent any more blood loss from the nose.

"OH GOD OH GOD I ALMOST KILLED HIM!" Yamamoto was panicking.

"Calm down idiot. Your hits may be powerful, but it's not enough to kill Reborn-san's student." Ienari heard Gokudera say.

"REBORN-SAN IS GOING TO SKEWER ME, EVEN NANA-SAN! OH GOD NANA-SAN WILL SKEWER ME ALIVE AND THEN PIN ME UP IN HER SHOOTING RANGE AND SHOOT ME TO HER HEART'S CONTENT UNTIL I'M NOTHING BUT A MUTILATED CORPSE!"

"DON'T SOUND SO EXTREMELY MORBID! MY HEAD IS BEING FILLED WITH EXTREME SCARRING IMAGES!" Ryohei shouted as he covered his ears with his hands.

"Stop with the shouting you stupid idiots!" Gokudera growled as he hit the two squarely on the head. "Listen up, _no one dies because of a hit on the bridge of the nose_. Though it could break, he won't die. Get it?" he said, trying to sound calm, but anyone without idiotic eyes could tell that he was reining in the urge to just let them think of delusions that would never happen.

"Really, guys, it's fine…" Ienari assured as he held the handkerchief on his nose, giving Tsuna the opportunity to take out Ienari's handkerchief and place an ice cube from the cooler that they brought with them. As he did, Tsuna placed the handkerchief covered ice cube at the bridge of Ienari's nose to stop the bleeding.

Kyoko and Nagi, on the other hand, went to the kids to dismiss them for the day, but not before reassuring them that their Takeshi-niichan will play with them again next week and assuring them that the 'Nii-san' that was hit was still alive.

As for Ienari, he feels a tiny bit happy as his older brother fussed around for him. It really was a bit refreshing.

But the vague memories that resurfaced still lingered on his mind. He remembers the mechanic British teenager named Spanner. Byakuran always gets jealous every time he talks with Irie about wires and scrap metal (his words, not Ienari's), but who was the person he called Simon? Spanner only calls the mafia heirs by their mafia family name, and the others by their first names. It was either Simon was a person's surname, or it was a mafia family.

But why can't he remember?

…

**Sumeragi-Niserio Residence**

Reborn was lounging at the living room when he received a text from Ienari.

_**Baka-Nari**_

_Reborn, do you know someone with the name Simon? Or a family, maybe?_

_-Ienari_

The hitman was taken aback by the text message of his student. Why would Ienari ask him like that?

'_Shit…could it be that his memories of that day was not the only thing that was erased…? If so, how much does he _not_ remember?'_

There was only one person who could help him besides the Arcobaleno to solve this mystery. And he has an inkling guess that it was the person whom Luce entrusted the Mare Rings to a year ago.

**TBC**

**And an update before my school starts!**

**Nagi now appears. Before you complain why Nagi is so upbeat, remember that this is an alternate universe, which means that Nagi grew up differently. As stated above, she was childhood friends with the Sasagawa siblings. And yes, she lives alone. More about her on the future chapters. **

**Xanxus is also a bit nice, if not, only to Ienari. He knew about his true identity from the start, considering that Xanxus looked around twelve years old when his mother passed him off as Timoteo's son, which means he was smart enough to believe that his mother would have lived a normal life, and not poverty, if she had been with a mafia boss. More insight to come when Xanxus appears again. **

**Mammon is Viper, that's the canon, but I don't think his gender was disclosed…if it is, then this has a FEM!Mammon/Viper element, but she did not discard her original name, Viper. **

**Just like I adjusted the timeline, I also adjusted the ages of the other characters.**

**Xanxus is 28, Squalo is 27, Dino is 26, and Belphegor is 22. **

**I just finished the two seasons of Tokyo Ghoul and the three manga series, and I can't help but gawk at Arima for being soooooo perfect! He reminds me of Reborn and a good basis for a Strong!Tsuna! Now I have a headcanon oneshot again running in my head. Damn it! This is going to take a lot of restraint not to put it in typing…**

**And so! My classes starts on Monday, and I hope you could bear with the possible once a month updates that I will be enforcing if my course load proved to be too much work that is needed to be dealt with. **

**Thank you for your understanding. I'll update soon!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Saturday came all too fast for Ienari's liking, and he was not looking forward to Byakuran and Irie coming over at the restaurant, since Reborn told him last night that indeed, he doesn't trust them to come in and leave the house without it being destroyed by 'clumsiness,' as he put it. But Ienari was half eager to know what happened in the month that he detached himself from society, and had allowed his father and the Ninth to spread some sort of rumor that would give the mafia world enough time to adjust for his return in an indefinite time.

Though detached he may be to the mafia world, he couldn't help but think that he was missing something crucial…

"You look a bit troubled today, Sawada," Hana commented as he watched Ienari as he served them.

Ienari smiled apologetically, "Ah, sorry about that. I was thinking about something…" he excused. He was currently at their table after Reborn all but stuck him in serving them during the weekends, saying" _"You might get a guardian out of them. Do it or I will_ make _you do it with your Dying Will."_

That was not a phrase that he wanted to hear from his tutor, considering his last sentence sent him to remember a string of embarrassment concerning a bullet, and being half-naked.

"It's not good to think deeply while serving us, you know," Kyoko stated with a smile.

Ienari smiled at them, "Thanks for your concern, but I'll be alright." He then noticed that the lone male in their group was not around, "Ryohei-san is not with you today?"

Haru smiled, "Ryohei-san had to go to Nagi's place today to help her with the moving,"

"Um…can I ask, is she his girlfriend?" Ienari asked, remembering the girl from the other day.

Hana gave him a piercing look, "He would be dead if she was. By my hands."

It only took three seconds for Ienari to understand. "Oh! Sorry, I-I didn't k-know!" he started to stutter. Reborn was going to kill him if he heard him stutter again. Awkward situations with his peers always leads him to this if he wasn't in his 'formality mode' as Reborn put it.

"Hana-chan! Don't show your evil eyes!" Kyoko chided. Hana simply grunted.

Kyoko turned back to Ienari who was noticeably shaken by the evil eyes, and tried to explain further, "Nagi-chan was just finishing up the last of her things to move to her new apartment."

"Uhm…so how did Ryohei-san get roped in helping her move?" Ienari asked, wanting the scary atmosphere to disappear. He really didn't want to mess with Hana.

"He's too generous." Hana said with a sigh. "Even though Nagi said that he didn't need to trouble himself. That's how helpful the idiot is."

Kyoko giggled, "That's my onii-chan~!" she then remembered something, "Ah, Ienari-kun, do you mind if you come with me and Haru? We were planning something for Tsuna-kun, but we don't want him to know," she whispered.

Ienari raised a brow, "Ah, sure. When?"

"I was thinking tomorrow, but I think you would be showing your Italian friends off," Kyoko said.

"Then it's alright if we go after? Their flight is in the morning. We could go tomorrow afternoon," Ienari offered. If she was getting something from Tsuna, then that meant that something was happening without his knowledge. Not to mention he could ask Kyoko about her obvious crush on his brother—who was unfortunately taken by the scariest man Ienari has ever met, right next to Reborn.

"Wonderful~!" Haru said, "We can also show you the best cake shops around!"

Ienari couldn't do anything but smile.

"Nari-chan~!" Ienari's conversation with the girls was interrupted when he heard a familiar sing-song voice. The table on the second floor was near the stairs and the large floor to ceiling windows, so he could hear the teenager very well.

With a sigh, Ienari excused himself, "Sorry, but I need to cut our conversation short. My—ah, our visitors have arrived." He said as he went down the stairs to meet Byakuran and Irie.

He twitched when he saw Byakuran wearing a palm tree printed shirt of all things, which made him look ridiculous in his books.

"What the hell are you wearing?!" Ienari questioned as he looked at Irie who was also exasperated at the white haired teen.

Byakuran seemed unperturbed at the stares that he was getting. He simply spun around and smiled his foxy smile, "Isn't great? I bought this yesterday at the department store. I couldn't take my eyes off it so I bought it!"

Ienari sighed and covered his forehead with his hands in annoyance. He really didn't need this early in the morning. "You and Reborn almost have the same taste in clothes…" he muttered. "Well then, which seat do you like? We just finished with the lunch rush, so we have a lot of tables available on the second floor where Tsuna and I are assigned today."

Byakuran looked around the place and spotted Reborn at the counter. "If you don't mind, can I speak to your tutor for a while?" he asked.

"What for?" Ienari asked. A word with Reborn meant a serious talk.

"Just some things I'm not clear about the silence in your location, that's all," he stated cheerfully.

"What am I, a buried treasure?" Ienari questioned.

"You might as well be~ your face is too precious~!" Byakuran joked. But before Ienari could try to throw him out, he turned to Irie, "Well then, Sho-chan, you can choose the table. I have to talk with Mr. Reborn," he said as he sauntered to the counter and whispered something to the hitman. To Ienari's surprise, Reborn led him to the back of the restaurant where no one would dare interrupt them without the two knowing.

It might not look like it, but Byakuran can give Dino a run for his money when it comes to fighting, not just by using his already well-trained brain.

"I apologize for his eccentricities, Ienari-kun," Irie said.

"Seriously, how do you put up with dating that guy?" Ienari asked.

Irie smiled, "Can't you tell? He needs looking after," he stated.

"Basically you're just his minder?" Ienari inquired.

"Most of the time," the red head said. But Ienari could see the tell-tale signs of fondness when talking about Byakuran.

'_What kind of dysfunctional relationship do they have?'_ Ienari asked himself for the thousandth time. But it seems that he would never get the answer in his lifetime. The two looked too smitten with each other, and it may come as a bit disturbing to Ienari when Byakuran tries to go all lovey-dovey to Irie—who does not appreciate PDA, but the main truth is that they would never leave the other's side. Shaking the thoughts away, he took out his notepad, "So, while waiting for that Marshmallow Lunatic, let's go to the second floor. Tsuna and I would love to serve you,"

Irie laughed, "Is this some sort of host club?"

"With the orders from Reborn for me to talk to most of our regular customers, and Tsuna being their favorite, I would say yes," he joked a he led Irie to the second floor.

…

At the back of the restaurant, Reborn and Byakuran stood, making sure that no one was listening.

"Does he remember?" Byakuran asked.

"He doesn't. His mind goes completely blank every time he tries." Reborn replied.

Byakuran cursed. "Damn it…and add to the fact that a lot of people are slowly believing that rumor…" he muttered.

Reborn raised a brow, "What rumor?" he demanded. He knew for a fact that the Ninth had left it to Iemitsu to spread the rumor about hiding Ienari somewhere in Europe in order for him to recover, but he didn't ask what kind of rumor the CEDEF boss had spread out.

"That Nari-chan is dead."

An enraged pair of eyes almost sent Byakuran running to Irie the moment he saw it. "_What?_"

Composing himself, Byakuran sighed and took out his phone, "Ever since Nari-chan was reported to be hidden by the Vongola, someone found out that he was rushed to the hospital in the middle of the afternoon. With nothing more to note, and his sudden withdrawal from the academy, the CEDEF boss might have found it beneficial to make the others think that Nari-chan is either hidden, or died by committing suicide." He started. "Of course, not a lot are eating that theory up, even believing that the Vongola is merely trying to buy time to train the next heir in line, which was Tsunayoshi-kun." He stated. "The first rumor was the most believed by them, considering that no one in their right mind would choose to end his life before inheriting a powerful family."

Reborn noted that he had to ask the Ninth if he approved of the little camouflage that Iemitsu had spread out. Chances are, he didn't. "And why didn't you believe the rumor as well?" Reborn said. "I figured you tracking Ienari's phone that fast was suspicious. I wonder what made you think that the rumors are all bull."

The foxy smile of the teen returned, "Ah, you guys still don't know, right?" he said as he showed him his left hand in order for Reborn to see what was on his left middle finger.

And lo and behold, the Mare Ring of the Sky adorned his finger like it belonged there.

The tutor's eyes became skeptical. "The Mare Rings are now in your hands? How did that happen? The guardian of the Mare Rings is the Famiglia of the Giglio Nero and its boss, Luce the Sky Arcobaleno. How did you make her give it to you?" he demanded, wanting to confirm that Luce gave the rings to Byakuran personally, and that it wasn't taken by force which contradicts to what Luce said to them about just 'giving it away' to someone. Personally, Reborn was starting to think that Luce has a bad taste in choosing the owners of the rings.

The teenager seemed to think a bit before answering with a cheeky voice, "Oh~ Luce-san gave it to me personally when I turned sixteen last year! She said that it would at least help me with things now that I have connected to the other Sky of the Trinisette~"

Knowing the properties of the Sky Mare Ring, and what kind of ability it gives the owner, Reborn was now compelled to believe that nothing will get past the teenager ever again. "Then I believe that you went along with that particular rumor upon coming here?"

"Of course~! The Vongola is not the only one who wants Nari-chan safe. More or less, even if he doesn't give the friend title, I still consider him as my friend." He stated as if it was obvious. "Besides, there is something else that bothers me about all this…"

"What about?"

The teenager's face turned serious, "…The Simon Famiglia has specifically investigated the rumor as well. It seems that they fell to that trap."

"And you coming here under your alias and your reason of stay being attending a funeral…"

Byakuran nodded. "Basically I solidified their belief that he's already dead. I could only imagine what their boss is feeling right now, looking for solid proof. But…the Earth still strives to reach for the Shrouded Sky."

Reborn fell silent for a few moments, thinking of the events these past two months ever since Ienari's reclusive tendencies returned, coupled with his suicide attempt. There was something that does not add up to any of their investigation about the reason. Nevermind if he couldn't recall it, but to forget certain parts of his life these past few years was a bit strange indeed. It was as if…

He sighed inwardly as he looked at the Mare Ring holder in front of him. Technically, in terms of power, the Gesso heir was superior, but experience wise, him, being the Sun Arcobaleno since he was twenty-three, was far more superior. But he felt that it was not for long. Luce did say to cooperate with the other holders of the Trinisette, and cooperate he would.

"For now, Ienari being oblivious to all of this is a must. At least until he could regain some useful snips of his memories." He decided. "He may not know it, but Tsuna noticed that he has been experiencing brief headaches. I know for a fact that he is starting to remember bits and pieces of what we are missing. A few days ago, Ienari started to see memories of him with two people." Reborn shared, "He knew the first person, which was Spanner, the son of a British Mafiosi, but he doesn't remember the second one. Take a good guess on who he is."

Byakuran didn't need to think who it was. "Kozato Enma, is it?"

"Bingo. Later that day, he asked me to search a person named Simon, or a mafia famiglia with the same name. It goes to show that he doesn't remember the Simon Decimo, not even his face and name."

"Considering what they've been through for two years, I'm pretty surprised." The white haired teen said with worry. "Add to that, with the kind of bond they shared, it all seems pretty tragic, him forgetting Enma-kun."

"I don't see the two of them have some sort of close bond,"

"It's a matter of angles, really," Byakuran stated.

"Enlighten me." Reborn urged.

"But it's not my place to say," Byakuran said with a pout. "If it was, I'd already be blabbing in front of you,"

"Sometimes I wonder which side you are on." Reborn said. "Luce did say that you are a peculiar one."

Byakuran gave off his normal smile, "I'm in any side I want to be~! And I help who I want to help. It just so happens that I adore my fellow Sky,"

The hitman contemplated the words of the Gesso heir, but he knew that his intentions were somewhat pure—even if his soul might not be. Just look at his childishness. "That's rather reassuring. Now, did you find out anything about _that thing_?"

"Ah~ about that…"

…

Tsuna was on duty on the second floor of the restaurant when he heard that Byakuran and Irie just arrived from Yamamoto who helped out today as one of their kitchen staff.

"Hu…and I was looking forward in serving Irie-kun and Byakuran-kun today, and I get assigned here at the second floor…" Tsuna sulked as he returned to the second floor counter where Hibari was taking care of the bar.

"And I thought you like the second floor," Hibari said as he was cleaning the shot glasses preparing for the incoming flow of morning shift workers looking for a drink.

Tsuna sighed, "Yeah, if you are lazy on the job or entertaining the old ladies. But today, I really wanted to meet Byakuran-kun and Irie-kun. They seem interesting enough,"

Hibari sighed, "As long as they don't disrupt the peace, them being here is fine. Though I don't like that white haired carnivore making a pass at you."

Tsuna didn't really get it, but he reveled in the prefect being jealous regarding him. "Aw, come on, did you see the way he looks at Irie-kun?"

"Had I not known that the carnivore was seeing that red haired herbivore, I would have bitten him to death the moment he hit on you." Hibari stated. "But that is not the case. Other than that, I feel like something is up with him…"

"Ah, you noticed too?"

"I'm not a herbivore not to." Hibari said, "And I believe that Gokudera Hayato and Yamamoto Takeshi also sensed it the moment they met."

Tsuna could only sigh. "Well~ we do know this, he's somewhat…linked to Ienari and the mystery around him. He may even have a link to another person."

"Your intuition is starting to scare me." Hibari commented. With little information Tsuna has, he could really hit the mark without trying.

"Hehe…" Tsuna simply smiled brightly. "It's what I'm good for,"

From the corner of Tsuna's eyes, he saw Ienari get up the stairs with Irie. Turning his head, he smiled, "Ah, Irie-kun! Welcome!"

"Thank you for inviting us here, Sumeragi-san." Irie said respectfully as he bowed to the brunette.

Tsuna simply smiled, "Ah, no worries~! And call me Tsuna. Calling me that makes me feel old…oh, that's right, Mom also wanted to meet the people who made Ienari's school life worthwhile,"

Just as he said it, the door to the office, which was just at the end of the counter slash bar opened. There Nana got out looking a bit lethargic, but somewhat glowing. Tsuna and Ienari took note of that.

When she caught sight of the small group, Nana put on her usual smile. "Ah, boys, is this our visitor?" she asked as she took a good look at the red head in front of her.

"One of them." Ienari said. "Byakuran is talking with Reborn now, but he will be up soon," he informed.

Tsuna raised a brow, "Why does Byakuran-san need to talk to Papa?" Tsuna wondered.

"Nevermind that now," Nana said, "You two, treat our guest with what they want!" she said gleefully. "I'm Sumeragi Nana, it's nice to meet you,"

Irie bowed respectfully at Nana, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sumeragi-san. My name is Irie Shoichi,"

"Please, call me Nana. Sumeragi-san makes me feel old," Nana said, not knowing that Tsuna said the same thing just moments ago, surprising Irie.

"Nana-san then," Irie said.

Ienari then pointed at the table just beside the girls, "Then, do you mind if your table is beside the girls?"

Irie turned to see the girls that Ienari spoke about, "We don't mind. Are they your friends?" Irie asked, but he already knew the answer to that, knowing Ienari's personality and his issues about the 'friend' title.

"Ah. No. They're Tsuna's friends and our regular customers," Ienari excused.

Irie laughed lightly, "You haven't changed at all, Ienari-kun, still hesitating." He commented. "Well then, that table is fine. Byakuran-san would complain about the light anyway," he said, not really paying attention to the surprised look on Ienari's face on his comment.

After Ienari and Irie left, Tsuna turned to his mother who was watching the blond with a fond face. "Mom, are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

Nana looked at Tsuna, "What do you mean Tsu-kun?" she wondered.

"Lately you've been a bit lethargic. Are you overworking yourself again?" Tsuna wondered. "We don't want a repeat of six months ago, you know." He said with a worried face. The last time his mother had looked like this, she had been overworking herself to the bone when she and Reborn had argued about something concerning Ienari. Stress working, Hana had said once before. To get her mind off of things, she distracted herself by working day and night and never stopping.

It led her to collapsing and being hospitalized for a week. Not even less than twenty four hours did Reborn storm through the hospital worried and blaming himself for what happened. That was the first and last time they ever fought seriously.

Now Tsuna was worried because it might be a different thing for her this time around.

Nana stared at her son and patted his head, "Ever the worrywart, Tsu-kun." Nana stated. "Don't mind me. I just got some issues concerning the accounts, and I just fixed it," she excused. "Now scat, don't make our customers wait~" she said as she shooed Tsuna away.

As she did, Hibari watched the entire thing from the bar. "You know Nana-san, you really shouldn't push yourself too hard," he reminded.

"You too Kyou-kun?" Nana asked with a pout. "You boys worry too much for me,"

"And Tsunayoshi worries too much for you as it is," Hibari said gently, "So please, take it easy."

Nana smiled genuinely at Hibari. Just thinking of her 'sons' being worried about her was very much reassuring.

…

**Nakagawa Nagi's Apartment, Namimori, Japan**

Ryohei placed the last of the moving boxes in the two-room apartment a few blocks away from Namimori High School, and looked back at the one who will be living in the said apartment.

"Good! Everything is inside now. Are you going to be fine unpacking on your own, Nagi?" Ryohei asked.

Nagi smiled at Ryohei reassuringly, "Yes. I'm sorry for the trouble, Ryo-nii," she apologized as she set down her duffel bag.

"It's extremely fine! I like helping out. Besides, you're like my sister too," Ryohei assured her. He could still remember the timid girl that he and Kyoko had met on when he was in third grade and Kyoko was in second. She had been rather distant, and always kept to herself and is always alone at the park. Kyoko had played with her a lot of times, until they both considered each other best friends.

Due to Kyoko's influence on her, she slowly got out of her shell. She lived alone the moment she entered middle school and worked as a part-timer at the Sumeragi family's restaurant, and just recently decided to move after a fight with her vindictive landlord.

"Thank you anyway. Would you like to have some sports drink before you go back home?" Nagi offered him. Usually, she would offer tea, but being the athlete Ryohei was, she knew that he preferred being offered sports drink.

"Ah, thanks, but no. Drinking sports drink at this time before eating dessert is a big no, and Kyoko might lecture me for it. She'll be home with my cake, and she might eat it herself if I did it."

"Alright then," Nagi said, "Then be careful on your way,"

Ryohei nodded as Nagi led him to the stairs down the apartment. "I'll be going then. See you on Monday Nagi!" Ryohei bid as he left.

Nagi watched as Ryohei disappeared in the road, and smiled softly. She really has a lot of fun in Namimori, and this time, she would be here permanently after managing to get out of Kokuyo.

"Ah…I forgot to ask Ryohei-san to give Tsuna the files…" she said as she took out the thick envelope from her bag which read:

_TOP SECRET_

_Case Subject: Sawada Ienari_

_Contents:_

_Medical Record_

_School Record_

_Simon Famgilia Record _

_Gesso Famiglia Record_

_CEDEF Record_

_Vongola Record_

Attached on the file was a note from the source:

_You owe me big time. You have no idea what we had to go through to get the Simon files. Use it well. Be glad I did this without any charge._

_-Viper_

**TBC**

**Hah. Done at last, but I'm not pretty happy with the outcome somehow…**

**This was supposed to be longer, but I decided to cut it and just maintain my less than 3,500 words a chapter to prevent spending too much time in a certain day like this one. **

**Now, I wonder what Tsuna wanted with these files, and how he made Viper get it… **


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

"Nari-chan~!" Byakuran popped behind Ienari as he served Irie his order a few minutes before.

The blond jolted in shock and glared at the white haired teen behind him. "Byakuran, please stay away from me. You're a nuisance." he said with a deadpanned voice.

Byakuran pouted, looking like a kicked puppy. "Nari-chan is mad…"

"Of course he's mad." Irie said as he stared blankly at Byakuran.

"Aw~ you started to eat without me Sho-chan!" he said with a pout as he observed that Irie was on his second cake plate.

"If you hadn't taken your sweet time, I wouldn't have," Irie said as he bit into more of the delectable dessert that Kyoko had recommended. "And I wouldn't have stricken a conversation with the girls here," he said as he looked at Kyoko, Haru and Hana's table just beside him who were giggling (except for Hana).

"You're too slow for your own good, Marshmallow," Ienari commented as he brought the girls glasses of water.

Byakuran clung to Ienari again almost immediately, "Nari-chan! Sho-chan is replacing me!"

"I wouldn't be surprised if he did." Ienari replied with the same deadpanned voice, signaling that he was getting annoyed by the second.

"Meanies, the lot of you!" Byakuran said, shedding crocodile tears.

"Ara, Nari, is this the other friend you and Tsu-kun mentioned?" Nana walked by as she took a good look at the white haired teenager.

"He's…my former classmate too, his name is Byakuran," Ienari introduced, ignoring the 'friend' part of her sentence.

"Nice to finally meet you, Sumeragi Nana-san. Ienari wouldn't shut up about you and your cooking when we talk about our parents," Byakuran said casually.

"Hey!" Ienari exclaimed indignantly. "Stop embarrassing me!"

When Ienari looked at his mother, he could see that she was indeed delighted that he talks about her with other people. Ienari had always been hidden by his father from his mother. That much he knew. Divorce settlements normally states that they either have joint custody or visitation rights. With the income that Nana had eight years ago, it was impossible for her to take a flight to Italy and back, thus, making her unable to visit Ienari from time to time. His mother may think that he resents her for asking for a divorce, but it was not the case.

Xanxus had told him that they were both at fault, yes, but that doesn't mean that he should stop loving the woman who raised him and Tsuna without the presence of her husband for nine years.

"Oh, and Nana-san, Reborn wanted me to tell you that he needed to talk to you earlier after his talk with me," he informed.

"Oh? Alright then! Have a good time boys," Nana bid as she left for downstairs.

When she was gone, Ienari glared, "Byakuran you bastard…"

"You're easy to get flustered, Nari-chan. So similar with Enma-kun." Byakuran blurted out of the blue as he sat down.

Irie's eyes widened and stared at Byakuran, "Byakuran-san!" he hissed.

"Huh? Who's he?"

It was normal for others to ask who the person is, but to Irie's shock, the one who asked that was Ienari himself. The worry in his head was replaced with suspicion. "You…don't know anyone by that name?" Irie asked.

"No…not that I know of," Ienari confirmed.

When Irie glanced at Byakuran, he gave him a look that meant to just go along with what Ienari was saying. It seems that Byakuran tried out a theory that he wasn't aware of. "Ah…never mind! He's a former classmate of mine, and Byakuran met him once, so…"

"Ah, I see. Well then, is there anything you want to order?" Byakuran opened his mouth to speak, when Ienari held up his hand, "And ordering every single dessert here is forbidden. The last thing Irie-kun needs is you on a Sugar Rush."

"Fine." The teen said, complying, not wanting to incite the wrath of Irie the next day.

As the three interacted, no one noticed the look that a certain brunette and prefect from behind them. Except, perhaps, the girls and the white haired teen.

…

"_I'm sorry I forgot to give Ryo-nii the files," _

"It's fine. You were busy moving, so I figured that you would somehow forget," Tsuna assured Nagi over the phone. They had just gotten home after closing up, and their visitors returned to their hotel to leave the next day. "By the way…what is the situation with him?" he wondered.

Nagi sighed. _"Well…as far as rumors run…it would be possible that they would search for Ienari in a disguise. They're still scouring Northern Europe."_

"How long until they get that done?" Tsuna wondered.

"_About six months or so? Then it's to the south, west, and then east. It depends on if they follow their intuition or if someone tips them off. They're already asking around intelligence organizations."_

Tsuna hummed in approval, "Then it's good that our contacts took the time to create fake scents."

"_I know that the Decimo is Dead rumor worked to our advantage when it comes to the nosey ones, but…"_ Nagi muttered. _"It doesn't do any good that some of them believes that you are being trained as the next Decimo."_

He almost wanted to laugh. He would have if it was not a serious matter to begin with. A lot are trying to find their location, but thankfully, the Vongola is doing its best to ward them off. They knew the consequences should the family secret get out, and the first one to kill them would be the Sun Arcobaleno.

"I know. But as long as the allies don't think so, then I would be safe. The last thing I want to happen is to someone putting a hit on my head,"

"_Don't go on jinxing it Tsuna. Remember what happened last time." _

Tsuna settled on to laugh lightly. "Yeah. I remember that incident." He turned around to hear soft footsteps behind him and went back to Nagi. "I have to go. Just send it to me via courier." He hung up afterwards.

Just in time, his father showed up behind him. "So you too are investigating this," Reborn said.

Tsuna nodded. "When I first heard of what happened to him, I had a hunch that the reason is something big. I know for a fact that Ienari is strong enough not to turn to suicide, so I asked Viper-san a favor. To get any records that he can about Ienari in all the sources he could get. And Nagi had been sent those files." he informed. "But I'm yet to get a hold of them. I have to act quickly if I want Ienari to recover fast before it comes to bite him at the back before he even fully recovers…"

"Tsuna, remember, the only thing we can do is to support him, and find the truth. We can't force him to remember." Reborn reminded. "Don't go overboard."

"I know that Papa! But if I don't move, I might…" Tsuna bit his lip in frustration. "I…don't want to be a useless brother anymore…"

Reborn sighed and pat Tsuna's head in comfort.

For years, ever since the divorce, Tsuna has been beating himself up in not being able to be there for his little brother to support them. Instead, a rift had appeared between them. Tsuna had been trying hard to become the big brother of the Rehabilitation Faction ever since recovering at the end of middle school, but the hitman knew that even though Tsuna could be that way, he could never find a way to be the big brother his own younger brother needed.

In all honesty, Tsuna had been nervous about the fact that Ienari would be living with them again, now as a brand new family with Reborn replacing Iemitsu as the father figure. So far, Ienari didn't feel left out of the family, which was good.

If there was one thing that Tsuna feared, it was being seen as a useless brother by none other than Ienari. Since they were children, Ienari had always been the one saving his big brother from the bullies, and its effects in their psychological upbringing was abysmal. He understands that Tsuna didn't want to be that way anymore, which was why he accepted _that person's_ offer two years ago.

Just thinking of that memory makes his skin crawl…

But he put himself to rights to console the brunette, "Tsuna, listen to me. Ienari is not the same kid who drifted away from you when you were nine. You're on good terms again, aren't you?"

"Yes…"

"Then for now, there is nothing to worry about." Reborn said, "Besides, if Ienari really is in a pinch, he won't keep it to himself for long."

His words somehow sent some sort of assurance in Tsuna as he nodded in understanding.

"Okay…" Tsuna replied.

But there were still something bothering the brunette, and Reborn knew him enough to just leave it to him.

Whatever it is, Tsuna can solve. He taught him what he knew for five years, after all.

…

**Rome, Italy**

The Cavallone Decimo, Dino, sighed as he looked at the files that were needed at the end of the day. Romario had locked him up in the office, with the windows temporarily barbed, and four cameras were watching his every move in the four-cornered room.

The only companion he has was his stereo set playing operatic pop and a mountain of paperwork on his desk.

This was the only way for him to finish his paperwork before he flies to Namimori in eight hours, and it was something that Dino hated, but knew he had to do for the sake of his family. At least it was not bigger than the Vongola Nono. His family was more rambunctious than Dino's would ever be. One of the things he was thankful for.

Although most of his paperwork consists of the covers that his family had to put up in order to appear legitimate as horse breeders, and manages equestrian camps and all things related to their family namesake.

With that, he assured himself that today will be the day he would visit Ienari for the first time since hearing about his hospitalization. Reborn had advised against him visiting the younger Decimo, saying that if an outside family member sees him step into the hospital and they look into the patients' records, then there would be questions that they were not willing to answer. As much as possible, they were minimizing the number of people they had to silence _permanently_.

He had just gotten a message from an unlikely source yesterday, introducing himself as Marshmallow.

He didn't need to be a genius to find out that it was the Gesso heir. He's seen Ienari's contact list, and the number that is registered under that name is Byakuran's.

The Cavallone and the Gesso Famiglia were financial allies, setting up legitimate businesses that helped each other for three generations. It was also the Gesso Settimo, Byakuran's father, who helped him with his new financial schematics when he was solving the financial issue of the Cavallone Famiglia.

He had met Byakuran once before, a poor boy diagnosed with Marie Antoinette Syndrome after being tortured repeatedly after his kidnapping and the murder of his mother when he was ten, the boy grew up to be…a kid with a few screws loose, but anyone with eyes could tell that he was very intelligent and cunning.

The message in his secure mail specifically stated to not mention anything related to the Simon Famiglia in front of Ienari. Dino didn't know why Byakuran issued that advice.

Out of all the people Ienari has met, he was rather open to Dino, and it was something that he was proud of. After all, he was the only connection Ienari has to Nana and Tsuna when he found out that Nana was in a relationship with Reborn. To put it bluntly, he seemed like a messenger bird to Ienari telling him of the status of his mother and older brother in Japan in secret. Dino never really understood why Iemtisu would ban Ienari from making direct contact with them, but he knew it was none of his business.

So it goes to show that he also knew what happened between Ienari and the current boss of the Simon Famiglia, Kozato Enma, and what had become of it.

"But to think it would end up like this…" Dino muttered to himself as he continue his paperwork, all the while, Romario was setting up the private jet for his boss' trip to Japan in a few hours.

No matter what, Dino had to see Ienari and warn him about the Simon, with memories or no memories.

…

**Namimori, Japan**

"Are you sure you don't want me to escort you at the airport?" Ienari asked Byakuran early the next day.

"_Nope~! We'll be using the private jet, so no worries!"_ Byakuran reasoned over the phone. _"Besides, think of the risk we'll take. If someone finds you here, then there would be trouble, no?" _

"When you put it that way…" Ienari said. "Then I suppose I didn't need to wake up this early for you. I can sleep away until afternoon,"

"_Oh? Have a date with the strawberry-blond girl I met yesterday?_" he teased.

"Say what?" Ienari demanded. "I don't see her that way," he denied, knowing where he was going with the conversation. Since meeting Kyoko, Ienari has caught her catching glimpses of Tsuna every time he passes by their table every Saturday.

He felt a bit bad for the girl. She must have not known that his brother was dating Hibari—much as he liked to deny it.

Byakuran laughed at the other line, "Really, it's time for you to go out there,"

"I'm not going anywhere. Besides, I have no time for women when I'm still here…not even friends."

"…Hey, aren't you taking things a bit far? Just because the Velasco Famiglia's heir did that to you and…" Byakuran trailed off.

Ienari stiffened at the mention of the person that Ienari hated the most, and the main cause for him to not just not make friends in the academy, he was also the reason he lost his best friend.

"You don't have to remind me." Ienari muttered lowly. "I don't want to remember the bastard who betrayed me and made me lose my best friend."

Byakuran was silent for a while, but then spoke with an apologetic tone, "Sorry about that. It just got to my head when I received news a week ago from Spanner taking summer school," he explained.

"What news?"

"This summer, the Velasco heir had been in the academy summer school for failing some subjects. During that time, it seems that he assaulted a student helping out the teachers after classes. He's on the verge of expulsion for that,"

"Assaulted in what way?" Ienari asked.

"Physical and sexual. The last part was just an attempt though, thankfully."

"Wait…who was the victim?" Ienari asked. "It's strange for you to bring this up when I don't want to know what has been happening to that son of a bitch." He was aware that he was cursing, but when it concerns a bastard he wants to kill, then to hell with language!

Byakuran sighed, "You won't like it…"

"Try me."

"…It's Yuri."

"Shit." Ienari cursed, remembering the kind classmate he has that was never one to listen to the rumors that the Velasco heir and his cronies had spread out. He was so nice, it was a shock to everyone that he was the younger brother to heir of the Giegue Famiglia of Russia.

Ienari met Yuri a few months after moving to the Vongola Castle. When the meeting between the Giegue and the Vongola had arrived for the first time since Ienari moved in, he met the two sons of Don Alexei, the Giegue Settimo, the eldest, Ivan, and the youngest, Yuri. His and Yuri's acquaintance turned into friendship, and before long, Yuri Giegue became Ienari's best friend. Or former best friend, after what happened with the Velasco heir.

"Yeah. You're telling me."

"Fucking bastard…I knew he wasn't straight. I caught him making eyes at Yuri hundreds of times…" he managed to mutter. "And I warned Yuri many times before, but he wouldn't listen…" a pang of regret and guilt coursed over Ienari.

"He didn't get that far with the second one. Good thing that Yuri had a lover who is also an assistant to the teacher."

"Say what?" Ienari said unconsciously. "Yuri has a boyfriend?"

"Yep. When he saw him, he beat the crap out of Velasco. Would have died if he wasn't stopped by Yuri."

Ienari scoffed. "Thank God for small mercies then. Yuri has always been a kind soul. He found a good man, didn't he?"

"The captain of the football team and the eldest son of the Trad 6 boss' right hand. He transferred last year, so you wouldn't know him since you and Yuri had that miscommunication, so yeah, he's a strong guy. Velasco won't live that long, I guess."

A satisfied smile was plastered across Ienari's face, "Yeah. He would last with his sanity intact if Don Alexei and Ivan will let him off the hook for assaulting his little brother. As if that would happen." They had seen first-hand how protective the Giegue heir is to his little brother while he was still in school. What's more is that Yuri is the favorite child of the Giegue boss. Someone attacking him will warrant the suspect a death sentence.

"I'll tell you the details on what happened in the aftermath when I get back home."

"Yeah, you do that. And send my regards for Yuri. We might not be…close anymore, but he is still my friend, no matter what."

"You know, I'm quite jealous that you call Yuri your friend, while Sho-chan and I don't have that kind of privilege." He whined.

Ienari rolled his eyes, "Just send him the message, will you?"

"Will do." Byakuran conceded, "See you soon." He said as he hung up the phone.

Ienari sighed as he flopped back on his bed. He really didn't want to remember his early academy days in the academy pre-Marshmallow early in the morning. But the memories kept on flowing back in his head. Sighing, he tried to get back to sleep, all the while, trying to forget the past that is pre-Marshmallow.

**TBC**

**Not really a good chapter today, but I did put a glimpse of Ienari's past pre-Marshmallow! Sorry for the quite short chapter. But I had to set things in motion before I run out of scenes to put in.**

**About the Marie Antoinette Syndrome, how else could I justify Byakuran's white hair? And yes, I have a tragic backstory for our precious Marshmallow Lunatic. **

**I'm sorry if this is a bit late. I did promise to update this at the end of July, but I was without internet for a week. **

**I hope you haven't lost interest in this fic though. **

**Oh, and if you hadn't read Shinto Priest Sawada yet, give it a go! **

**See you!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

"I don't know Kyoko-san…Tsuna doesn't strike me as the flashy type when it comes to sweets…" Ienari said as he and Kyoko stood at a very girly cake shop at the shopping district that afternoon.

He was actually dragged by the girls to the shop to look for some sort of gift for some reason or another. Haru was at the other shop trying to cover more shop ground, which left Ienari to Kyoko's care.

"Really? But Tsuna-kun has always liked strawberry shortcakes…it's just in the matter of design…"

"Never struck me as the flashy type, but he does like cute things, besides Hibari, that is." Ienari said absentmindedly that he slapped his mouth shut as he looked at Kyoko completely horrified.

A rather pained expression went across her face as he said it, making Ienari feel guilty for bringing out his insensitive side. "S-Sorry…"

Kyoko smiled sadly, "You noticed, huh?" she asked.

"I'm sorry if I sound a bit intrusive," Ienari apologized. He already knew that towards Tsuna, her heart was already broken. She might even have been rejected by Tsuna at one point.

Kyoko waved her hand gently as she smiled at him, "No, it's nothing. No one has ever noticed it before besides Hana and Haru…"

"Well…they are your friends after all." Ienari explained.

"Just like Byakuran-san and Irie-san is to you?" Kyoko wondered. "You have good friends too,"

Ienari waved his hand, "Ah, no, they're just…uh…former classmates."

"Really? You three seem really close. I thought you were friends," Kyoko stated. Ienari looked away from her, making her concerned. "Ienari-kun?"

Ienari sighed and spoke, "People might call us that, but I'm not able to consider them as friends. They act like it, but I can't consider them as one…"

"Can't, or you won't?" Kyoko asked, surprising Ienari. "I know a true friend when I see it. It comes with being open with people and connecting to them. And I know what it's like to have people put up a front and _pretend_ to be your friend."

As shocked as Ienari was, he could imagine the school life that Kyoko has had. Tsuna had told him about Kyoko since their grade school days, she was considered as some sort of idol, and were greatly admired and envied by most of the girls in her year. It came to a point when she had a friend who was merely using her reputation to score a boyfriend, and did not end well to the other party involved. That was why Hana, her childhood friend, had been some sort of a bodyguard to her, which had been very useful when they were in middle school when she tried to get away from a Kendo Club captain trying to get her.

True that it happens in school, but Ienari was still hesitant, as his fate was double hers.

Ienari sighed and looked at the cakes on the display, "I had a friend once. At least, I thought he was. For a while we were a trio along with my best friend who I met because of my grandfather's associates. But he destroyed the bond one day, starting with my best friend, and ultimately, destroyed my chance in making friends in school, making me a social outcast to be feared and despised rather than simply being treated normally." He shared. "That's why I can't call Byakuran and Irie my friends. I don't want to give people that title and lose them again."

Kyoko nodded in understanding. "I see. I guess we're on the same boat somehow."

"Yeah, I guess we are." Ienari agreed. "So, why are we looking at cakes again?" Ienari tried to lay the subject to rest.

"Oh! Well, starting today, we are starting on planning Tsuna-kun's surprise eighteenth birthday party!"

"Huh? But his birthday is nine weeks away," he stated.

"Which gives us a lot of time for planning before he notices," Kyoko said, "He has an impeccable ability to notice the odd behaviors of people, and if we start planning later, he might notice the fact that we are sometimes in a rush." She explained.

"I can see that." Ienari agreed. During his time in the Sumeragi-Niserio household, he has been creeped out by the intuitive brother of his, always knowing what he was up to in the house and guessing his mood and what he was frustrated at with his homework. He thought it was just because he was a Counselor, but he has a hunch that it had something to do with the family Hyper Intuition that he might have inherited from their ancestor, Giotto.

He never manifested a strong intuition, but it was enough for him to sense any danger. He proved it when Reborn was planning on trying to kill him on his training regimes. He did not want the nightmare to return ever again.

Kyoko smiled. "We have to beat the others when giving him a gift. It became a sort of tradition every year for four years, instigated by Reborn-san,"

At that, Ienari paled, "You don't mean…that Vongola Style birthday party contest where all of us will try to impress the celebrant with how we shower him our gifts, is it?" he has enough horrors about that when the Ninth's birthday comes along and his guardians always try to best each other, except for Visconti—but ironically, the Cloud Guardian has the most wins between them, what with giving Timoteo the leeway to get out of paperwork and go to week-long trips that Visconti arranges himself. Of course, that left Coyote with the paperwork. He would eventually do it since the said Storm Guardian has the most losses despite being the right-hand man, as part of the punishment of the lowest scored individual.

Ienari has an inkling guess that Timoteo was doing it on purpose…

"Exactly! It was so much fun the first time and the next. We also have to get a gift for Reborn-san as his birthday is on the thirteenth,"

"Now that you mention it…" Ienari remembered. Reborn's birthday was a day before Tsuna's, which meant that the two might share the same birthday party, which means…

"Are we supposed to give Reborn a gift for this contest too?"

Kyoko shook her head, "Reborn-san said we can give him gifts, but the main highlight of the party should be Tsuna, and not him, since he's already an adult. He will also join in trying to best us at giving him a gift,"

"I wonder what Reborn is planning on giving him…" Ienari wondered. "Then I should get a gift for Tsuna as well before the time limit, huh?"

"Of course! Tsuna is very meticulous about giving out scores you know! And the loser has to do a dare." Kyoko shared.

"Somehow I don't want to imagine what Tsuna has in store for the loser…" he muttered.

Kyoko giggled a bit too much. She probably remembered what happened the last few years that the game was enforced. "Don't worry. Whatever happens during the dare, we keep it to our graves and diaries." She assured him.

But Ienari couldn't find it in himself to be assured.

…

Reborn knew that there were things that he knew he should have expected after marrying Nana four years ago. But he didn't expect the entire Arcobaleno to be setting up \private and secure connections at his own house the moment he moved in. He knew that most of the Arcobaleno are back in Italy except for Fon who was currently in China with his ward, but did they have to invade his haven in Japan just to get a hold of him?

'_Why? Ah, yes, because Luce said so…'_ Reborn thought as he inwardly sighed as he looked at the seven other faces in his large screen. At the middle of it was Luce, their Arcobaleno boss.

"You doing well there?" Luce asked the hitman.

Reborn nodded. "So far so good. No one has an idea where we hid Ienari, and no one dares to follow me in Japan, not after what happened five years ago." He informed. "Your chosen Mare Sky _did_ find Ienari in no time at all." Reborn stated with annoyance. He could still remember the noise that they generated yesterday, disturbing some customers until the Gesso heir and his companion left.

"Don't worry about things at the end here," Viper assured him, "Following your brat's advice, my men and I are throwing off fake scents from different mafia families, including our allies in order not to get compromised. One family is exempted from that, though,"

"Let me guess, it's Dino?" Colonello asked.

Skull huffed, "Really, why are they making a fuss in looking for the Vongola? If they said he's in hiding, then they should just leave them alone. It's not like the Vongola is killing off their heirs,"

"What about on your end, Skull? Is the Carcassa Famiglia also after Ienari?" Fon wondered.

"I advised them not to join in the fray, if that's what you're trying to say." Skull said, "It would not benefit them if they would also look for a person that is under our protective wing. I told them that it might be a trap to waste our resources in order for the nosy ones to get us obliterated before we have the chance to replenish."

Lal smirked, "One of the few things you did right,"

"What was that?" Skull demanded.

"The point is," Luce said, breaking the incoming bout of 'Let's Intimidate Skull and Tease Him' game. "At least we all understand to advise our affiliated families not to delve into the mystery so much. If they are allies of Vongola, they would listen well and try to understand that the secrecy they are doing is for the best. As for the ones who think that Ienari is dead and is being replaced by Tsuna though…"

"The only ones who fell for it are the ones who discovered that Ienari was hospitalized and then disappeared." Verde stated. "I checked the system of the hospital. At least fifty families tried to hack into the security, and all of them are now checking every single country where Tsunayoshi might be."

"So fifty of them are now looking for Tsuna…" Reborn muttered. "This is getting out of hand. If they get the tip to go to Japan, then we would all be in trouble. They know that Ienari is Japanese, but he was introduced as being born and raised in Italy since birth after the divorce…I worry if they find it in their heads to look at Asia."

"As if we could make a move immediately. Ienari is still in the process of regaining his memories. We can't force it out of him." When he saw Luce smile, Reborn rectified, "Or maybe you can, Luce,"

All eyes were now on their boss who was wearing a knowing smile. "Well, I can, but like you said, there would be a price to be paid when I do it. The price is not going to come from you, but from Ienari himself." She warned.

"We'll take our chances." Tsuna said as he appeared at Reborn's door, a Bluetooth mono headset on his right ear, carrying a tray of espresso. "My little brother is not weak, no matter how frail he looks." He assured.

Luce nodded and smiled as she saw Tsuna appear on the screen within the reach of the camera. "Well then, this makes things easier. Since you are there, Tsuna, you could do this as well."

"Huh? Me?"

The woman nodded. "We both possess sky flames, and this can only be done by that type of flame."

"What is it?" Tsuna asked, interested.

"A way for Ienari to banish the mist in his mind." Luce answered. "But you cannot do it alone. So Reborn had recommended a doctor for Ienari to help you out with the procedure."

"I understand."

Luce smiled as she looked at the determined face of Tsuna. "Of course you do. He will be there by next week."

…

"I'm home…" Ienari called out as he entered the house after being dragged by Kyoko and Haru around the cake shops, always asking his opinion in every sweet that they show him. He was starting to think that girls revolve their lives around sweets.

Tsuna was the one who greeted him as he came down the stairs, "Ah, had a nice day with the girls?"

"They dragged me to every cake shop in the shopping district. I'd be surprised if I didn't put any extra weight in less than five hours…" the blond muttered as he took off his shoes. "Are girls crazy with cakes often?"

Tsuna chuckled, "You have no idea. It might be just a welcome dessert trip for the two though. If you swear off cake for a week, you'll be fine,"

"I'll keep that in mind." Ienari said with a sigh as he and Tsuna went to the living room and sat beside each other. Ienari leaned back on the backrest. "Did anything come up while I was gone?"

Tsuna shook his head. "Not really…" he tried to recall.

"Where's Mom?"

"Ah, she went to her regular doctor's appointment today," Tsuna informed. "Which reminds me, we have to go as well next week,"

"Huh? Us?"

Tsuna nodded. "Papa knows someone at the hospital that knows of us, and he transferred from Italy just to be your personal doctor."

"Whoa, whoa, please don't tell me his name starts with Shamal…" he pleaded. He really liked to forget the perverted doctor who always tried to make a pass at any person with female parts.

At his horrified face, Tsuna laughed, "Of course not! Papa would shoot him and turn him into Swiss cheese if he even touches a hair on our heads. We'll see an acquaintance of his. I believe he is also a member of a Russian family. His name is Dr. Ivan."

"What?! Ivan?!" Ienari said in shock.

Their private doctor was _the heir of the Giegue Famiglia_? What was Reborn thinking?!

"I see you know him then." Tsuna concluded from his facial expression.

Ienari scratched the back of his head. "Yeah. He's the older brother of…well…my former best friend…"

Silence reigned in the room for a few moments. Ienari gave his brother time to take in the fact that yes, he did consider someone a friend once. Not just a friend, but a best friend. Remembering the past still hurts Ienari so much that he didn't really want to talk about it, not even to Byakuran. Of course, being the rude intruder Byakuran is, he actually saw Ienari's past the moment he got the Mare Ring of the Sky.

"Ah…I see." Tsuna said finally. "You want to talk about it?" he asked. "You flinch and frown every time someone calls Byakuran and Irie-kun your friends. When we were young, you were friendly with almost everyone. It made me wonder what happened to make you isolated from your peers back in Italy,"

He felt transparent every time Tsuna looks at him, and Ienari knew that there were a lot of reasons for this. Towards his brother, even when they were young, Tsuna could sense if something was bothering him, if he was hurt somewhere, and if he was scared. He realized a few weeks after moving to Italy how much he needed his big brother's words of comfort, saying that everything will be fine, and that he would help him, even if he wasn't that much of a help back then.

But right now, remembering and telling Tsuna was not an option. At least for now. "No…I…it's something I still have to come to terms with…" he said with a sigh. "I just…can't let it out yet…"

With a smile, Tsuna ruffled his head, "Alright. Come on, help me with dinner. Papa's in his office talking to the rest of the Arcobaleno at a video conference," he informed as he stood up from the couch and motioned him to follow him at the kitchen.

All the while missing the stare that Tsuna was giving him.

'_I promise you, Ienari, I will make you remember what you need to…'_

**TBC**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

**Hospital Ward, Cielo Floor, Mafia Accademia Dormitories Bldg. 1, Milan, Italy**

Byakuran righted himself as he entered the hospital ward of the Cielo Floor of the dormitory. He stopped at the door with the sign, 'Yuri Giegue' and knocked on the door.

"It's open," a demure voice said from the other side.

Byakuran opened the door to see Yuri Giegue upright on the hospital bed, his usually shiny blond hair is now being partly covered because of the bandage on his forehead, and his right eye had a gauze because of a cut near his brown eye, and a patch at his left cheek.

Looking at Yuri, he really looked like someone almost being beaten up to pulp, but despite that, he was still able to smile. "Ah, Byakuran."

"Why are you here this early?"

Byakuran looked at the young man of eighteen on the right side of Yuri's bed, his untrusting red eyes staring at him scarily. It wasn't helping that his black hair was styled the same way as Reborn—minus the side burns—which made him all the more intimidating. For a son of the right hand of the Trad 6 Secondo, he looked like his charge, the future Terzo, intimidating and scary.

With a small amused smile, he replied, "I heard the news from Kikyo. I guess your overprotective side has its merits, putting your ESP on full throttle, Dante,"

Dante frowned as he looked at Yuri again, "I almost wanted to run my hands through his chest for doing this to Yuri…" he muttered.

"You don't have to go that far Dante!" Yuri said with a worried face, "I don't want someone dying because of my carelessness…"

"But you're not careless! Mateo is the one who should have known better than to lay a hand on someone who isn't his!" Dante growled, but stopped himself when he reminded himself that it might scare Yuri off. "You have no idea that all the people around you will go to hell and back if so much as a scratch land on you."

"And yet here I am, full of bruises, and no one's overreacted yet except for you, Ivan and Papa." Yuri stated. "I know you all care about me, but you don't have to kill Mateo…"

Byakuran sighed as he took Dante's side, "Your lover is right, Yuri. There are some things that cannot be forgiven, and Mateo Velasco did something that he knew would warrant a death sentence from your family." He lectured. "Remember that he is the first one in your generation to assault the second in line to the title of Giegue Ottavo. This might have happened before with other families, but to those involved in things like this, it is something that is feared by the parents."

Yuri looked down, "I know…" he said with a sigh. "I should have listened to Ienari back then…"

Dante raised a brow, "The Vongola? I thought you only knew each other by name and interact only for formalities?"

With a sad smile, he answered, "Way back before we met Mateo…we were best friends. But Mateo did something unforgivable for us to be estranged…but back then, I thought that Ienari had done that. When he attacked me, he confessed that he had done a lot of things just to get to me, even making me severe my friendship with Ienari…he told me everything as he was beating me up…" Yuri clutched his bedsheet. "I don't know if he could ever forgive me…"

"Yuri…" Dante muttered. In formal parties, he has seen the future Vongola Decimo in action with interacting with the adults in every party, but he does his socializing work and avoids his peers for some reason, hence, he never met the young Decimo informally to get to know him. It was as if there was a wall that was erected between him and his peers. When he transferred, he even heard rumors about him, making people stay away from him.

Now he knew that it was the work of Mateo, whose family is notorious in spreading scandals.

As the Gesso heir watched Yuri despair, he decided to free him from it before he starts to believe that Ienari would be capable of hating someone he considers a friend. "You might want to erase that notion, Yuri." He said with a cheerful voice, making Yuri and Dante look at him, "I called Ienari the other day. He is very hell-bent in joining in the fray of the 'Let's kill the bastard' side of the case,"

Dante raised a brow, "How can we be so sure that you are in contact with him? A month ago, he disappeared from our radars. Some even thought that he is dead after being hospitalized,"

"Dante, don't believe that. Ienari is made of tougher stuff than that!" Yuri defended. "Even if he is in a sticky situation, he would not trade his life for anything!" that was when Byakuran knew that they were one of the people who has caught wind of the various rumors of where Ienari could be.

Byakuran sighed, "Yuri…just how much do you remember about Ienari?" he asked.

As if challenging him, Yuri replied, "Since before we drifted apart."

"And that was what? Three years ago? Yuri, Ienari has changed a lot since then. Sho-chan and I had been witnesses to it." He stated. "He would detach himself from the people around him, and would go with the flow. I have been annoying him for the better part of my time here, and not once has he considered me his friend, just an annoying classmate, and simply puts up with my antics." He stated. "What you know about Ienari is the Ienari who might no longer return. That is how much the Velasco heir destroyed his thoughts about making friends, and it all started when he lost you."

As Byakuran expected, Yuri was now at a loss of words, but what he didn't expect was for Yuri to cry. He panicked when he saw Yuri sob as he thought about what Ienari had gone through. "Oh _dio_…! What…what has Mateo done…?!" he sobbed. "Ienari…he already has enough trust issues even before we became friends…and…"

In no time at all, Dante was beside him. "No more tears, Yuri. You've cried enough because of this whole ordeal."

But Yuri kept on sobbing. "But still! It's all my fault! I believed in what Mateo said to me and the small 'evidence' that he showed me! I'm a terrible friend…how could he still consider me as his best friend?!" he then looked back at Byakuran, "Tell me, what happened to Ienari?"

"I can't answer that unless I have your sworn oath that you will never divulge this to anyone else besides you and Dante." Byakuran said in a serious voice.

Yuri didn't need to think about it. "I swear it upon my family and my flames, never to betray your trust in this matter," he said it with a determined face, neither Byakuran or Dante had the chance to refute his decision—as if Dante would, after what he had learned.

With a satisfied smile, Byakuran began to recount what has been happening so far, all the while, feeling victorious that they have another contact to solve the mystery.

…

**Sumeragi-Niserio Residence, Namimori, Japan**

Ienari woke up in cold sweat that night, his eyes wide and horrified at the dream that he had. _'No…more like a memory…'_ he corrected himself as he tried to wipe the sweat off his forehead upon that particular memory.

It had already been years, but the scar that it left was something that Ienari hated every single damn time it returns. Usually, it returns every time he tries to make a new friend. But it had been a little over a month since he came to Namimori and had interacted with Tsuna's friends, and two years since he met Byakuran and Irie so what was happening?

Before he could answer his own question, a frantic knock on the door was heard. "Ienari?" Reborn's voice was heard on the other side. Not waiting for a reply, the hitman might have used his master key to get into his room and rushed inside along with his mother and brother who were equally worried.

"What happened?" Nana asked worriedly. "We heard you shout and got worried,"

Ienari stared at the three of them in bewilderment. He's never had people run to his side when he screams in his sleep. Only inquiries in the morning.

"Is there something wrong?" Tsuna asked as he went to the side of his bed.

It made it hard to produce words. "Uh…it's…" he trailed off. "Nightmare…I've been having it once in a while." He confessed. "It's more like a pretty bad memory…"

He shut his eyes closely, waiting for them to say that it's just a dream and dismiss it, but instead, Tsuna ruffled his head. Tsuna turned to Nana and Reborn, "Don't worry, I'll take care of this," he assured them.

With a nod, Nana and Reborn left, leaving it all to Tsuna who has been through this before. "If you say so Tsu-kun."

And with that, Nana and Reborn left Ienari's room, with full assurance from Tsuna that he would solve this nightmare.

Tsuna made himself comfortable in Ienari's bed and looked at him, "Ienari, you can't run away from your issues forever," he started. "It would always come back to bite you in the ass if you do. Tell me what is really bothering you." He pleaded.

It might be the pleading look in his brother's eyes, or his losing control over his bottled-up memories and feelings that made him cave in to Tsuna's pleading to tell what was wrong.

With a sigh, he relented, "Alright…"

With a smile, Tsuna nodded approvingly. "Tell me anything you want, and start wherever you want to start."

Ienari nodded. "Before I met Byakuran…I did tell you I had a friend once, right?"

"Yeah. You said that he's the younger brother of the doctor we're going to see in a few days,"

"His name is Yuri. He's currently one of the top students in our year…and a person who is always kind to everyone. We met when Grandfather and his father had a meeting, and had set up a playdate for me to get to know him and his older brother. That's what started our friendship. We've been seeing each other since then, sometimes along with Ivan when he has the time." It was then when Ienari's face turned dark, "But then when we enrolled in the academy, everything changed…we met a person in our class, Mateo of the Velasco Famiglia. He just transferred in the second half of the term. Rumors said that he rebelled against his private tutors in order for his father to send him to the school. We didn't pay any mind to his rebellion since it's quite common, considering that his father married five women after his mother.

"He approached me and Yuri one day, and instead of introducing himself to me as the heir, he merely asked the question if I was really Japanese. While it surprised me and Yuri, we let him be close to us. We became a trio. We study together, we do almost everything. But it only lasted for six months when I saw him making eyes at Yuri."

Tsuna raised a brow, "What is the harm in that?"

"Back then, Yuri has had a series of stalkers in school, and it took Ivan almost everything he had to keep Yuri oblivious to it. But I didn't notice his ulterior motives until I heard him talking on the phone one day when I was looking for him for gym. He only needed to be rid of me for him to get to Yuri and make him fall for him…"

"What did you do about it?" he asked, not really liking where the situation was going.

"The stupidest thing ever. I confronted him and threatened to tell Yuri about his intentions of taking advantage of him, but not before I beat him to a pulp. But then, Yuri caught me about to land a final blow at Mateo, and when he asked what was going on, Mateo went a step ahead of me and told him that I was getting rid of him because I was too close to Yuri. He told him that _I _was the one who has ill intentions towards him." He smirked darkly, "The bastard was so good in acting that he even fooled Yuri." He said as he grit his teeth. "I knew from then on that people will pin something on someone just to escape from their faults. So I simply said to Yuri that I was getting rid of a trash in front of me, and acted like a delinquent with too much power. And then…I told him to get out of my sight from then on." Ienari leaned on the wall, "I left after that and got sent to the headmaster's office where I was suspended for two weeks."

"But…he did try to talk to you, didn't he?"

Ienari nodded. "He did. He was persistent that way. And I didn't want him to get into anything because of me, so I said to him that…well…that he was a nuisance and should stay away from me. If we do meet in parties, I told him I will treat him like I do our allies, which is void of any familiarity. He never said a word to me after that,"

"I see. And what did Iemitsu and Timoteo-san think of this?" Tsuna pried.

"Kept them in the dark too. I said that what they were saying was technically not a lie, and I got grounded until my suspension was over with nothing but books for company." He replied. "Dad even wore his usual 'I-am-disappointed-in-you' look, and Grandfather…well, he wasn't easy to fool. He knew something was up, but he didn't press me for details." He stated.

"Maybe Timoteo-san knew that you had to resolve this yourself. But clearly…you hadn't done a good job," Tsuna said. "I know the feeling of losing a friend because of rumors. All of us are not alien to that feeling. But keeping it bottled inside would result in things we cannot expect…just like mine," he said as he unconsciously looked at his arm with overlapping scars. Even now, Tsuna refused to have them removed, knowing that remembering is better than forgetting it ever happened, because it shaped who he is right now. But he would be damned if Ienari will have to go to the path he led to discover himself.

"I-I didn't mean to bring up something sensitive…" Ienari apologized, seeing the way Tsuna looked at his scars.

Tsuna ruffled his hair, "Idiot. Of course I don't mind. It helps when you talk to someone who's been down the same road." He assured him. "But I'm glad you told me." When he saw Ienari smile, he went on with his lecture. "I know that you don't want to lose a friend, Ienari, but don't you think that Byakuran-kun and Irie-kun are already your friends even if you don't label them as one? They never left your side, and from what you told me, they didn't listen to the rumors and just simply approached you with their hand of friendship. Friends like that are hard to find. Trust me, I know."

Then it dawned on Ienari. Tsuna's words were true. Byakuran and Irie did consider him as their friend, so why can't he?

_Because you were afraid._

_Because you fear that they would discard you when they grow tired of you._

_Just like what Mateo did._

_You fear that you would be used._

Ienari shook the voice inside his head. "I…I don't think I can…"

"Can, or you won't?" Tsuna interrogated. "Ienari, true friends are hard to find. And if you let them slip away, you would be all alone with no one to stay by your side. I won't always be there, and neither can our parents and Timoteo-san. You need friends to support you and give you an unbiased opinion of many things. They are there to keep you from being lonely."

He glanced at Tsuna, "Were you lonely?"

"Not anymore." Tsuna said with a smile. "And I thank every god there is that had given me the chance to find friends that will stay by my side no matter what."

All of a sudden, tears came out of Ienari's eyes. All the pent up frustration about his failed friendship came pouring out in the form of tears. Almost immediately, Tsuna pulled him into an embrace, resting his chin on Ienari's head. "Shh…let it all out. I'm here if you need a shoulder to cry on," he assured.

"I-I don't want to be lonely anymore! I don't! But…if I let them be close to me, they would face danger, like what almost happened to Yuri back then…and…now I blame myself because something happened to Yuri now because I wasn't there…! I…didn't want Byakuran and Irie face social ridicule because of the lies that had been circulating around me, so I became a distant bastard…" he sniffed. "I don't want to be that way anymore…" he mumbled.

Ienari kept crying all night until Tsuna noticed that Ienari had fallen asleep while clinging to him. Lying him down on the bed, Tsuna tried to leave, but Ienari had such a strong grip that he held Tsuna's arm tightly, that it kept him in place.

Chuckling, Tsuna scooted him over and pulled the covers on the two of them and laid there, looking at his little brother. "Even after all these years, you still cling to anyone when you have a bad dream," Tsuna muttered as sleep took over him as well.

…

**Disciplinary Committee Headquarters, Namimori Reformation and Rehabilitation Institute, Namimori, Japan**

"Damn it this is irritating," Gokudera said as he straightened his glasses the umpteenth time. "How in the world do they manage kids in the Mafia Accademia?!" he growled. "Suspended for two weeks for assaulting an heir? Please. Kids there get suspended there for _a week_ for blowing up a part of the school. Ienari is the more powerful heir of the two—provided that the assault was true—so why was he suspended without the Vongola influence coming to his rescue?" Gokudera understood more than anyone in the room that favors run rampant in the mafia, and offending a powerful mafia family even in the littlest thing can destroy one's reputation. So why was Ienari exempt from that common thing?

On the table were the file that were delivered by Nagi to the Hibari Residence upon the request of Tsuna, in fear that Ienari might find them and get the wrong idea. Now Hibari, Tsuna, Gokudera andYamamoto are huddled in the large study full of information about one Sawada Ienari. Nagi was on Hibari's computer screen, reading the copies she has.

"It goes to show how much prejudice the headmaster has towards a foreign student, and the heir to one of the most powerful families to boot." Nagi commented as she looked at the written form of the reason for Ienari's suspension. "Looking at the medical records our informant managed to nick in the dormitory's Hospital ward, the Velasco heir was not even hit in vital areas. Just a few in the arms, gut, and face."

"Serves him right." Tsuna said. "I don't believe that Ienari beat him up without provocation. I should get that headmaster fired for this…"

"Now, now, Tsuna, remember, keep your professionalism apart from personal matters." He chided.

"With the way we are snooping right now, we already failed to do that," Hibari said as he reviewed the academics of the blond. "I have to say, he is pretty smart for his own good. Passing marks in all subjects, but not much social contact after he and a Yuri Giegue had ceased contact," when she flipped a page, Nagi's brow furrowed. "Guys, turn to the twenty-first page of his school record regarding his classmates' opinion on him." She stated.

Raising brows met her, but they did as she told them to.

What they saw made Tsuna's blood boil to dangerous levels.

**_Classmate A: Ienari? The Vongola heir? I won't go near him if I were you. I heard that he actually picks fights with the assassin teams of different families and does his every dark bidding._**

**_Classmate B: The Vongola? The only ones who has a death wish are the Gesso heir and his two friends. One of them is English, and the other Japanese. They must be immune to his death stare. It's creepy! _**

**_Classmate C: The one who assaulted Mateo? Of course I won't go near him! I heard his injuries were severe that he had to stay in the hospital ward for a month for that. They should have expelled Vongola._**

**_Classmate D: Rumors say that he almost succeeded in assaulting Yuri Giegue. They were close friends once, but suddenly became distant. I guess it's true that the Vongola swings that way. He's lucky he's the heir of the Vongola or else the Giegue heir might have killed him already._**

**_Classmate E: He's a shady one, that guy. They said that he's involved in dirty dealings behind the backs of his grandfather and father._**

**_Classmate F: Oh, him? We just leave him be. Looks like someone who could kill a guy with one swift punch. They said he beat up those who comes near him. Glad that Yuri Giegue came to his senses before he ended up like the Velasco heir._**

**_Classmate G: The headmaster was right when he told us in passing that Asian heirs are nothing but trouble. They shouldn't even be allowed to inherit a European family! Scum. He just proved that they are easily provoked, which is a weakness._**

**_Classmate H: Keeps to himself most of the time. Always reading, which is a bit nerdy. Must be a know-it-all if people avoid him._**

The room felt several degrees colder once Tsuna browsed all ten pages of the students' opinions towards Ienari. And it was something that is hard to get Tsuna out of.

"Those bastards…" he said as he grit his teeth, reining his anger in. _This _was how people viewed Ienari in Italy? "_They will pay._"

And when Tsuna says they will pay, they _will _pay.

**TBC**

**And another update! **

**You're wondering why? **

**Well, it's not really a good news for someone taking preliminary exams this month, but from Wednesday until today, which is Friday, classes were suspended because of super typhoons in our area recently. It's normal, but dangerous, and a bit worrying. I mean, some of our citizens are still recovering from Haiyan, and it wouldn't help if we are endangered as well because of the heavy rains and winds. **

**Well then, I'll update again soon~!**

**Stay safe everyone!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

**Gokudera Hayato's Apartment, Namimori, Japan**

Gokudera sighed as he downed another cup of coffee in his apartment, working on a report Mr. Slave Driver had ordered him to do.

It had been a tiring day, from restraining Tsuna for ordering people to torture Mateo Velasco to death and the other students who talked bad about Ienari and pulling in several favors to get the current headmaster of the academy fired, to making sure that the soundproof room was tightly closed from the colorful words that Tsuna released afterwards.

It had eaten a lot of their time that they were almost late for their next classes, and their lunch boxes forgotten as they rushed out of the headquarters. Hibari seemed like the only one unperturbed, since he owns the school by proxy, so he was the only one rushing to the next class.

Once more, he gazed at the file on his kitchen table. While it was a necessary report, Gokudera couldn't give a damn about it, not after reading the school experience of the Vongola heir. And they were just scratching the surface from the records that Nagi got from their contact.

There was still his hospital records, and records from the Varia and other families to look at, and it was already pushing Tsuna to the point of committing bloody murder.

From behind him, a lean figure embraced him from behind, distracting him from work. "You're not going to bed yet?"

Gokudera sighed. "Hibari wanted me to finish this by tomorrow. I don't really have a choice," he replied as he looked up to meet the eyes of Yamamoto Takeshi who was in nothing but pajama bottoms, leaving his chest exposed for him to see.

"And just when I found the time to sleep over, and he goes on and assigns you more work." He said with a small frown.

"That's the way the bastard is." Gokudera replied, "And I bet he knows that you are the reason why I fall asleep in meetings sometimes."

Laughing, Yamamoto tore away from Gokudera slightly, "Well, he is one of the sharpest tools in the shed next to Tsuna." He stated.

The two had been secretly dating for six months now, and neither had said a word towards the others, preferring it to be a secret. But they knew for a fact that Hibari and Tsuna—who were with them most of the time, knew that they had already hooked up based on the looks that the couple gives them. Thankfully, they decided not to vocalize it.

"If you knew how to keep it in your pants, then I wouldn't be in that situation most of the time." Gokudera growled. "You keep me up into the morning, I barely have enough sleep."

With a chuckle, Yamamoto leered at him, "That's not what you're saying when we're in bed…"

He was met by a hit on the head with a roll of papers. "Idiot. Not today."

Yamamoto pouted childishly, "You're mean. At least cuddle with me for the night."

Taking off his glasses and placing it on the table, he gave up. "Fine. But if you do any more than that, and you're sleeping on the couch and forbidden to touch me for a month." He threatened.

Smiling, Yamamoto nodded and pulled the silver haired teen out of his chair and carried him like a princess, making him blush. "You idiot put me down! I can walk on my own!" but Yamamoto didn't listen to his threats and curses and brought him gently down on the bed.

Pulling the covers, he went under it with Gokudera and tucked him on his chest. "This is good, right?" he asked.

Gokudera, glad that the lights were off, couldn't help but blush at the cuddly situation he is in now. "Just get to sleep. I'll just wake up earlier to finish my report…" he conceded.

"Won't Hibari get mad at you?" Yamamoto asked with a small teasing smile.

"He can complain all he can. I'm not wasting precious sleep with you because of the incident reports on first year punks." He growled. "Are you going to sleep or not? If not, then I'll gladly get back on my work."

The answer he got was the taller teen pulling him close and tucking him under his chin with a small happy sigh and tried to drift off into sleep.

A few minutes later, the two were sound asleep when a ping in Gokudera's laptop went up with the sender being _Bianchi_.

…

_The feel of soft hands running through his hair could be considered as godsend. He found that he didn't want the hands to leave, didn't want the hands to stop unintentionally lulling him to sleep. He felt so good about it that he couldn't help but to let out a purr. _

_A chuckle came from the person stroking his hair. "You seem to be enjoying this," _

_Ienari smiled, "What can I say, you have magic hands. Now I know why you always want me to do this to you." _

"_A compliment from you? How rare." The voice said. _

_Ienari reached up to pinch the side of the person's side, who squeaked in slight pain. "Okay, okay, I'll just take it when I can," _

"_Good idea." Ienari replied. _

"_It's been a while since we've had this kind of peace. No students, no noise, and especially, no _Byakuran_." _

_Ienari chuckled at that. "Byakuran ticking you off?" _

"_Cockblocking me, more like." The person replied. _

"_He has bad timing, I agree, but he doesn't do that to you all the time." _

"_More like he does it when he wants to be annoying." _

"_Point taken." Ienari replied. "So, are you up to sneaking out with Byakuran and Irie with me tonight for some fast food?"_

"_With the thrill of the risk of being caught and greasy American food? Of course. Though I would like to remind you that I still hadn't forgiven you when you and Byakuran tried to imitate The Lady and the Tramp spaghetti scene right in front of me."_

_Ienari rolled his eyes, "Aw come on! That was all in good fun." _

"_He French kissed you. I was surprised Irie was in on it too." _

"_Jealous?" Ienari taunted. _

_The person's legs moved a little, removing any tension but careful not to drop Ienari's head. "More than I could admit." _

"_Then the trap worked." _

"_You're a little minx, aren't you?" _

"_And you're too naïve for your own good." _

…

The morning shone bright and clear on Ienari's window, and he hated it. Whose big idea was it to put his bed directly in front of the widow anyway? He wanted to think that it was Reborn's. He was having a good night's sleep, one of his good ones in weeks, actually. Usually, it would be a trip down memory lane like he was being lost in a thick fog, or sometimes, he could find himself lost in a maze. He used to have a very peaceful mind, but ever since that time, he could tell that something was wrong with his head.

The memory that he had recalled this time, however, was somewhat warm and nice. He remembers the place where it happened, but just like all of his dreams, the boy with him remains to be a mystery for him.

And he never knew why.

All he knew that he was a very important person in his life, even more than Byakuran, Irie and Yuri. A relationship above friendship. Ienari wanted more than anything to remember what he looked like and who he was, but his mind always rebels as if saying, _'You can't know.'_

He glanced at his clock. It was still half past five. He wasn't supposed to get up until quarter to six. Shaking his head, Ienari got up and decided to start his day early.

Heading to the bathroom to prepare for the day, he decided that he would at least get dressed before going to breakfast. He could already hear the kitchen roaring to life as his mother was preparing breakfast.

When he got down though, he sensed something strange. And by strange, he meant scary. What was more, Tsuna was the center of it. The worst part? He's been like that since yesterday.

Ienari didn't know why he felt so uneasy upon seeing Tsuna after classes that day when he was waiting with Reborn for him to come. He could tell that Tsuna was in a slightly sour mood, no matter how much he tries to mask it. It may be a byproduct of being taught by Reborn, but he had been able to sense the feelings of people around him, no matter how much they try to put on a face to mask these things. Auras had always been Ienari's strong point in sensing most of the time.

And this time, Tsuna's aura was a bit scary, as if he was thinking of different ways of maiming someone in particular in his head which would prove to be traumatic to the target. Seriously, even when they were kids, a purely angry Tsuna was a scary Tsuna, and it was making Ienari run for the hills.

And it was the same thing he is sensing right now.

"What's gotten you so sour since yesterday?" Reborn commented as he saw Tsuna take his usual seat at the breakfast table.

"Racist pigs." Tsuna replied, not really elaborating.

"That's a general issue. Care to be more specific?" Reborn asked as he continued to read the morning paper.

"Racists pigs who can't accept the fact that someone of a different heritage is above them both intellectually and politically."

Reborn raised his brow. "Politics or the underground?"

"A school system." Tsuna shared.

"Ah." Reborn let out.

Not really getting what his brother and tutor were talking about, Ienari decided to tune them out and greeted his mother as she gave him his share of breakfast. "So, what are the two discussing?"

"Something about another school." Nana supplied for him.

Ienari was not oblivious to the fact that most schools tend to discriminate foreign students, and even some of them were scorned by the faculty that was supposed to supervise them while they were at school. His face darkened slightly as he remembered his time in Italy. He never liked the way the headmaster looked at him as if he was scum on the bottom of his five figure leather shoes.

He sighed as he simply ignored the two others in the room and proceeded to eat his breakfast.

…

After the boys and Reborn had left for school earlier than was usual, Nana was left to clean the breakfast table. Her manager was going to open up the restaurant today, so she could rest easily these days. She sighed as she remembered the sour mood that her eldest son had projected since yesterday. Reborn had hinted her that Tsuna had gotten some information regarding Ienari's time in Italy, and that he must have found something he detested in them.

There were a few things that could push Tsuna to awaken his anger, and one of them was harming his younger brother in any means possible.

Nana had never seen her son truly mad, until the news of Ienari's attempted suicide reached them as soon as Reborn had heard it. She had never seen her eldest so livid and ready to kill. Even she had been angered at the fact that someone had driven her son to do that, but she was more worried about Ienari than angry at the cause at that time. Looking back, she had been a second away from taking the flight to Italy just to see him had it not been for the fact that her husband was there to monitor him.

Sighing, she straightened herself up and went on to fix what she needed to do before going to the restaurant before the lunch rush, but before she could start, the home phone started to ring.

"I wonder who it could be…" she wondered as she answered the phone. "Sumeragi-Niserio residence," she answered.

"_Drop the formalities. It's me."_ the voice of the man she hated the most said blithely at the phone. Her hand gripped the receiver in irritation at the voice of the man who left her and Tsuna hanging on by a thread.

"What do you want? I'm busy." Nana growled.

The man on the other line scoffed. _"Busy? What? Living in the lap of luxury that came from the pockets of your hitman husband?" _

"Excuse me, I'm not some gold-digging bitch." Nana retorted. "Unless you called here just to insult me, I suggest you refrain from talking to me."

"_Where's Ienari?" _he demanded.

"At school, where all children are supposed to be at this hour." She replied.

"_Does he have his phone with him?" _

Nana didn't like the tone that her ex-husband had given her. How dare he demand things from her especially concerning her son? "You have no jurisdiction on what Ienari has and doesn't have. It was your upbringing that drove him to this mess."

From the other end, Nana heard his frustrated growl. _"Just tell me if he has his phone or not!" _

"Don't take that tone with me Sawada Iemitsu. I am no longer obliged to answer to your demands. Good. Bye." She said in anger as she slammed the phone, cutting the call. "Bastard." She growled, her hand itching for her gun at the moment. Had she known she would once be married to an asshole like him, she shouldn't have kept her gun under lock and key all those years ago.

Shaking her head to alleviate her annoyance, she turned to the door in order to go to the restaurant, not really wanting to mull over the reason why Iemitsu had the guts to call her and demand things like that.

…

Tsuna has never lost his temper so easily unlike what had happened yesterday, and it was scaring Ienari. Even during their childhood, he never really saw a very angry Tsuna who would snap at anyone who dares come in his way with less than acceptable intentions. He suppose, even the best had their bad days. He was still thinking this when he felt someone tap his shoulder.

"Hey," a girl's voice called out.

Ienari was taken out of his thoughts and his head snapped up to see Sagara Rin, his seatmate from the Reform Faction. "Ah…Sagara-san, good morning," he greeted weakly.

"You seem a bit out of it. Did anything happen between you and Sawada-senpai earlier?" she asked, her piercing brown eyes looking at him with concern.

"What makes you say that?" he wondered.

Sagara pointed outside the classroom, "Everyone in the school knows when Tsuna-san is in a bad mood. It's rare for him, but it happens. He has this air about him that says 'Danger, do not cross' around him." She explained.

That was when Ienari picked up her words carefully, "Wait, you mean this happened before?"

The girl shrugged as she sat down beside him. "Yep. I think that was during the issue between the school and Kokuyo Middle School when some of them attacked our students. He was really angry at the students there and also the authority under it. Everyone was treading on eggshells towards him, especially the DC Chairman." She explained.

"What happened after that?" Ienari was now curious.

A laugh escaped her lips. "Not a month later, the school was shut down."

"What?!" Ienari exclaimed.

"Well, they had it coming anyway. The last straw came from an accident that involved two Reforms and a Rehab getting hospitalized because of serious injuries. Sawada-senpai simply put the last nail in the coffin." She said with a shrug. "If he's mad to that point, then that means that someone or something had offended one of our own. Frankly, I don't really pray for their souls since they probably deserve it. His ire will go away when he settles everything, so just sit back and watch." She assured.

"If you say so…" Ienari said as he sighed. It seems that he still has a lot to learn regarding Tsuna. "I wonder what could be so trivial that could rile him up?"

…

"I never realized Ienari's school life could be so trivial that Tsuna-sama had to pull strings…" Gokudera said with a sigh as he walked beside Yamamoto on the way to the cafeteria that afternoon.

"Tsuna doesn't forget slights to his family. You know that." Yamamoto said as he had his hands behind the back of his head. "To be honest, I'm surprised Tsuna just didn't have him fired. He revealed all his deep dark secrets and threw him in the lions' den. He's vindictive like that."

"Yeah." Gokudera agreed. "Something is a bit fishy in the other information regarding Ienari though." He added.

"What?" Yamamoto dared ask.

"I discussed this with Tsuna-sama, but it seems that Ienari has not yet talked about his time in school other than Yuri Giegue and what happened between them. What happened after that is still a mystery." Gokudera scratched the back of his head, "We should have asked Byakuran and Irie if they knew anything about Ienari's plight, but even they are tight lipped about it."

It was then when Yamamoto recalled something from the day Byakuran and Irie had stopped by the family restaurant, "Say, didn't Irie mention someone named Enma, and when Ienari asked who he was, but it seemed like Irie said something he shouldn't have? Maybe you could start with that?"

"Enma huh." He muttered. All of a sudden, he stopped walking.

Yamamoto noticed this and looked behind him, only to find his boyfriend's eyes wide in realization hit him. "What is it?"

Gokudera snapped out of it immediately. "I'm skipping lunch. Tell Hibari I'll be in the office until break is over!"

Yamamoto watched as Gokudera ran back to the direction of the DC Headquarters, not knowing that he has given a vital clue as to what happened to Ienari.

**TBC**

**So, in this fic, I rewrote the entire storyline. There will not be much action here and I will be paying more attention to the mystery that is Ienari's school life that not even Byakuran and Irie know of much. It seems Ienari has a lot of secrets of his own that not even the snoopiest Byakuran could uncover…for now. **

**I still have a lot of plot holes to address and make, but for now, I wanted to post this in order for you guys to at least know I'm still alive and kicking.**

**Sorry for the months of silence in the site, but now, I'M FREE! Thesis and Practicum training had gone so well, I now have time to write until graduation~! Oh, one more thing, I have some announcements in my profile, if you hadn't seen it yet or if you aren't reading my Fem Soma Oneshots. I updated it just yesterday but I'd like to inform those non-readers of that fic. **

**See you guys next chapter!**


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